Warner, JLARC propose sweeping tech overhaul

Gov. Warner wants a sweeping overhaul of informational technology in state government.

A consolidated Virginia Information Technologies Agency would replace the Department of Information Technology, the Department of Technology Planning and the Virginia Information Providers Network Authority.

The VIPNet and Virginia Geographic Information Network boards would be abolished.

IT divisions would be pulled together from 91 agencies in the executive branch, leaving only the universities, courts and legislature outside the consolidation.

Improved use of new technologies and net savings of about $23 million through mid-2004 were predicted.

A week after Warner unveiled his plan, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission, the General Assembly's watchdog committee, blamed lack of planning, oversight and funding for the state's IT failures and cost overruns.

A study of 15 major state computer systems projects found that some of the failed projects were launched lacking a clear vision of functions the system would perform. The failures cost the state $75 million.

The state spent an additional $28 million on cost overruns to salvage wayward projects, the 200-page report said.

The legislature in some cases aggravated the problem with spotty funding for major enterprise projects, said Hal Greer, the JLARC project leader who presented the findings to the commission.

Both JLARC and the governor called for appointing a statewide chief information officer to direct future projects, planning for and funding approval for projects by an investment board, IT specialists to oversee and manage enterprise systems projects and information systems built to the same standards.

The 104 data centers state government operates statewide — 34 in Richmond alone — and the costs of updating and maintaining them is reason enough for consolidation, JLARC said. One system the state still operates was out of date 20 years ago, the report said.

Among the successful computer projects, JLARC said, were a $18.3 million inventory and product sales system for the Alcoholic Beverage Control Department and the Department of Motor Vehicles' $25.6 million infrastructure replacement program.

The report said that some of those projects, however, exceeded their projected costs — the DMV project by nearly $5 million, and the ABC system by about $1.3 million.

State's Internet portal ranked #1 in the nation

"My Virginia," the state's official home page, was awarded first place in the Center for Digital Government's annual Best of the Web competition.

The portal <http:// www.-myvirginia.org > provides a variety of services, some of which are the first of their kind in the nation to be offered by a state government Web site:

" Live Help: online, real-time customer service assistance via the state home page;
" My Mobile Virginia: wireless state portal and government services available via wireless and hand held devices;
" Online driver's license renewal service;
" Real-time election results for both the Web and wireless access;
" My Virginia Personalized Home Page: allows citizens to customize their government home page; and
" Consumer Assistance Portal: complaint topic selector allowing citizens to identify the government entity with which they file a consumer complaint.

The Virginia portal placed fourth in the Best of the Web competition in 2001 and fifth in 2000. The Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles placed third in 2000.

"My Virginia" was designed by VIPNet, a state entity that assists other Virginia government agencies in providing information and services via the Internet.

"This recognition is substantial and reinforces the overall plan for Virginia to improve our reputation as a technology leader. We will continue to improve the portal by expanding the number of services. It really will improve the experience of interacting with government for any Virginian with access to a computer," said Gov. Warner.

Maine came in second in the competition; Pennsylvania and Washington tied for third.

Digital Roanoke

For the second year in a row, Roanoke has been named one of the country's top "digital cities" with populations of 75,000-125,000.

The "Digital Cities Survey" gave Roanoke high marks for the city's Web site: <http://www.roanokegov.com> .

Areas of note included the wide variety of municipal services that can be conducted online, the number of electronic forms available, the scope of public information on the site and the ability for citizens to send online feedback to city officials.

Survey officials were also impressed by the city's development of a new internal web site that gives employees greater access to forms, documents and customized benefits information.

Roanoke was lauded for its advanced integration of technology and public safety, including a computer-aided dispatch system, an automatic Fire-EMS alerting system and computerized police and jail records managements systems.

The study further noted Roanoke's development of a geographic information system (GIS) and the city's application of technology to improve operational efficiency.

"Roanoke is proving that we are making real progress in using technology to provide our citizens with convenient and timely access to information and services," City Manager Darlene Burcham said.

On-line list of sex offenders raises tangle of legal issues

Virginians will learn by mid-year whether the state's on-line listing of sex offenders meets the U.S. Supreme Court's principles for privacy, due process and double jeopardy.

The court will rule on the constitutionality of two such registries, one in Alaska and one in Connecticut, which is identical to Virginia's.

Virginia Attorney General Jerry Kilgore has filed a brief in support of Connecticut's case.

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, a journalists' group based in Arlington, also filed a support brief.

RCFP argued as a "friend of the court" that to declare unconstitutional the publicizing of accurate criminal records "could result in over-broad restrictions on the dissemination of truthful information."

Virginia's Internet registry has been visited more than 2 million times in the four years it's been online. Proponents of the so-called Megan's Law sites say they give parents a tool for safeguarding children against predators.

Those challenging the registries argue they violate offenders' rights: everyone must register even if the government has not proved that an offender remains a threat after release from jail.

Many of the registries are self-reported, which means convicts must be trusted to provide reliable information, including all changes of address and employment.

"It's not necessarily accurate. It's not necessarily current," argued Nina Ginsberg, a Northern Virginia lawyer representing four registered offenders in a suit attempting to shut down this state's registry.

The Virginia suit is on hold until the Supreme Court rules in the Connecticut case.

Statistics show that sexual offenders have low re-arrest rates. The U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics tracked prisoners released in 1994 for the following three years. Those convicted of sexual assault and rape had among the lowest rates: 41.4 percent and 46 percent, respectively, were rearrested in three years.

Conversely, those who committed property crimes had substantially higher recidivism rates: 78.8 percent of those convicted of motor vehicle theft, for example, were arrested again during the study period.

Virginia maintains a statewide database of all criminal records, but only the one listing sex offenders is publicly accessible.

Just recently, however, a commercial vendor advertised a new Internet service permitting anybody to check a person's criminal record in nearly any courthouse in the state.

There's one hitch: Each "look-up" costs $29.95.

Health agency to post restaurant inspections

The Virginia Department of Health is preparing to put restaurant inspections online. Inspections already are public records but must be viewed at a local health department.

Such a Web site would enable consumers to click a computer mouse and view official evaluations of sanitation and food preparation practices in snack bars, restaurants, school kitchens and food service areas of hospitals, nursing homes and day care centers.

The Roanoke Times said editorially, "Putting the documents on the Internet is a bonus for consumers, because the public record should be open to the public — through the most efficient, effective means available."

Users of the Web site should keep in mind, it said, "that restaurants seldom pass inspection without a violation. The eateries are seldom shut down, but inspectors will allow them to operate with one or more non-critical violations, such as a torn floor tile that catches dirt. Appropriately, the caveat is that the owners plan to correct the infraction."

Non-Internet users can still visit a local health department unannounced during regular business hours and wait for a staff member to help them inspect a restaurant evaluation, or they can call ahead to make an appointment to see the records.