California CIO: Create new board to plan IT

California State Chief Information Officer Clark Kelso is recommending that the state establish a new management board with broad control over information technology policy.

The board would adopt statewide strategic IT plans to support state operations and conduct ongoing reviews of the state's IT procurement, oversight and security programs, the governor's office said in a statement released Friday.

"The board will bring transparency and sunshine to the most important IT decisions facing the state," Kelso said.

An executive order issued by Gov. Gray Davis on last May instructed Kelso to develop a proposal for the procurement, management, and operation of the state's IT systems.

The recommendation to create a new board to handle IT planning is part of a final set of recommendations from Kelso to Davis for establishing a permanent IT governance structure following the abolishment of the state's Department of Information Technology last July.

After closing the Department of Information Technology, Davis established an interim governance structure for IT that relied upon increased collaboration and coordination among the state's IT leaders, including the state CIO, departments of Finance and General Services, the state's data centers, agency information officers and the California Highway Patrol.

The proposal codifies that structure, the governor's office said.