The Florida Senate

¹282.102  Creation of the State Technology Office; powers and duties.--There is created a State Technology Office within the Department of Management Services. The office shall be a separate budget entity, and shall be headed by a Chief Information Officer who is appointed by the Governor and is in the Senior Management Service. The Chief Information Officer shall be an agency head for all purposes. The Department of Management Services shall provide administrative support and service to the office to the extent requested by the Chief Information Officer. The office may adopt policies and procedures regarding personnel, procurement, and transactions for State Technology Office personnel. The office shall have the following powers, duties, and functions:

(1)  To publish electronically the portfolio of services available from the office, including pricing information; the policies and procedures of the office governing usage of available services; and a forecast of the priorities and initiatives for the state communications system for the ensuing 2 years.

(2)  To adopt rules implementing policies and procedures providing best practices to be followed by agencies in acquiring, using, upgrading, modifying, replacing, or disposing of information technology.

(3)  To perform, in consultation with an agency, the enterprise resource planning and management for the agency.

(4)  To advise and render aid to state agencies and political subdivisions of the state as to systems or methods to be used for organizing and meeting information technology requirements efficiently and effectively.

(5)  To integrate the information technology systems and services of state agencies.

(6)  To adopt technical standards for the state information technology system which will assure the interconnection of computer networks and information systems of agencies.

(7)  To assume management responsibility for any integrated information technology system or service when determined by the office to be economically efficient or performance-effective.

(8)  To enter into agreements related to information technology with state agencies and political subdivisions of the state.

(9)  To use and acquire, with agency concurrence, information technology now owned or operated by any agency.

(10)  To purchase from or contract with information technology providers for information technology, including private line services.

(11)  To apply for, receive, and hold, and to assist agencies in applying for, receiving, or holding, such authorizations, patents, copyrights, trademarks, service marks, licenses, and allocations or channels and frequencies to carry out the purposes of this part.

(12)  To purchase, lease, or otherwise acquire and to hold, sell, transfer, license, or otherwise dispose of real, personal, and intellectual property, including, but not limited to, patents, trademarks, copyrights, and service marks.

(13)  To cooperate with any federal, state, or local emergency management agency in providing for emergency communications services.

(14)  To delegate, as necessary, to state agencies the authority to purchase, lease, or otherwise acquire and to use information technology or, as necessary, to control and approve the purchase, lease, or acquisition and the use of all information technology, including, but not limited to, communications services provided as part of any other total system to be used by the state or any of its agencies.

(15)  To acquire ownership, possession, custody, and control of existing communications equipment and facilities, including all right, title, interest, and equity therein, as necessary, to carry out the purposes of this part. However, the provisions of this subsection shall in no way affect the rights, title, interest, or equity in any such equipment or facilities owned by, or leased to, the state or any state agency by any telecommunications company.

(16)  To adopt rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 relating to information technology and to administer the provisions of this part.

(17)  To provide a means whereby political subdivisions of the state may use state information technology systems upon such terms and under such conditions as the office may establish.

(18)  To apply for and accept federal funds for any of the purposes of this part as well as gifts and donations from individuals, foundations, and private organizations.

(19)  To monitor issues relating to communications facilities and services before the Florida Public Service Commission and, when necessary, prepare position papers, prepare testimony, appear as a witness, and retain witnesses on behalf of state agencies in proceedings before the commission.

(20)  Unless delegated to the agencies by the Chief Information Officer, to manage and control, but not intercept or interpret, communications within the SUNCOM Network by:

(a)  Establishing technical standards to physically interface with the SUNCOM Network.

(b)  Specifying how communications are transmitted within the SUNCOM Network.

(c)  Controlling the routing of communications within the SUNCOM Network.

(d)  Establishing standards, policies, and procedures for access to the SUNCOM Network.

(e)  Ensuring orderly and reliable communications services in accordance with the service level agreements executed with state agencies.

(21)  To plan, design, and conduct experiments for information technology services, equipment, and technologies, and to implement enhancements in the state information technology system when in the public interest and cost-effective. Funding for such experiments shall be derived from SUNCOM Network service revenues and shall not exceed 2 percent of the annual budget for the SUNCOM Network for any fiscal year or as provided in the General Appropriations Act. New services offered as a result of this subsection shall not affect existing rates for facilities or services.

(22)  To enter into contracts or agreements, with or without competitive bidding or procurement, to make available, on a fair, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory basis, property and other structures under office control for the placement of new facilities by any wireless provider of mobile service as defined in 47 U.S.C. s. 153(n) or s. 332(d) and any telecommunications company as defined in s. 364.02 when it is determined to be practical and feasible to make such property or other structures available. The office may, without adopting a rule, charge a just, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory fee for the placement of the facilities, payable annually, based on the fair market value of space used by comparable communications facilities in the state. The office and a wireless provider or telecommunications company may negotiate the reduction or elimination of a fee in consideration of services provided to the office by the wireless provider or telecommunications company. All such fees collected by the office shall be deposited directly into the Law Enforcement Radio Operating Trust Fund, and may be used by the office to construct, maintain, or support the system.

(23)  To provide an integrated electronic system for deploying government products, services, and information to individuals and businesses.

(a)  The integrated electronic system shall reflect cost-effective deployment strategies in keeping with industry standards and practices, including protections and security of private information as well as maintenance of public records.

(b)  The office shall provide a method for assessing fiscal accountability for the integrated electronic system and shall establish the organizational structure required to implement this system.

(24)  To provide administrative support to the Agency Chief Information Officers Council and other workgroups created by the Chief Information Officer.

(25)  To facilitate state information technology education and training for senior management and other agency staff.

(26)  To prepare, on behalf of the Executive Office of the Governor, memoranda on recommended guidelines and best practices for information resources management, when requested.

(27)  To prepare, publish, and disseminate the State Annual Report on Enterprise Resource Planning and Management under s. 282.310

(28)  To study and make a recommendation to the Governor and Legislature on the feasibility of implementing online voting in this state.

(29)  To facilitate the development of a network access point in this state, as needed.

(30)  To designate a State Chief Privacy Officer who shall be responsible for the continual review of policies, laws, rules, and practices of state agencies which may affect the privacy concerns of state residents.

History.--s. 22, ch. 69-106; s. 1, ch. 70-327; s. 36, ch. 83-334; s. 11, ch. 87-137; s. 220, ch. 92-279; s. 55, ch. 92-326; s. 16, ch. 95-143; s. 1, ch. 96-357; s. 9, ch. 96-390; s. 11, ch. 97-286; s. 65, ch. 98-279; s. 5, ch. 2000-164; s. 11, ch. 2001-261; s. 36, ch. 2002-1.

¹Note.--Section 31(4) and (5), ch. 2001-261, provide that:

"(4)  The State Technology Office is authorized to charge back to each participating agency an amount equal to the total of all direct and indirect costs of administering the agreement with the agency and the total of all direct and indirect costs of rendering the performances required of the State Technology Office under such agreements.

"(5)  Any resources transferred to the State Technology Office which were dedicated to a federally funded system shall remain allocated to that system until the appropriate federal agency or authority confirms in writing that another plan for supporting the system will not result in federal sanctions."

Note.--Former s. 287.25.