The California Performance Review's recommendations for improving IT operations would greatly alter how contractors work with the state, but it is unclear how quickly new opportunities would emerge from the reforms.
	The Oregon Department of Human Services plans to release a solicitation for Medicaid management information system services, including system design, development, installation and maintenance. The RFP is expected in September. The contractor should propose an information system that is in production in another state, and the hardware, software and services needed to modify the system to meet Oregon's needs.
	The New Jersey Attorney General and the Criminal Justice Information System's Advisory Policy Committee may issue an RFP to implement recommendations of a study done for the Criminal Justice Information System. The state wants a system that will assign an ID number to each person after fingerprinting. That number would be used to track the person through the judicial system.
	Rhode Island is expected to release an RFP in mid-September seeking proposals to draft the state's master plan for a telecommunications infrastructure. The document will cover first-responder radio systems, interoperability, next-generation telecom transport, converged telecom services and continuity. Rhode Island anticipates this being a large project and wants to implement a plan quickly.
	The Pennsylvania Department of General Services is working on a solicitation for a statewide PBX telephone system and services. The request for proposals is expected to be released later this year. The current contract expires Dec. 31, but the state can extend it for three months. The state wants a contractor to furnish, install and maintain all equipment needed to make the system fully operational.
A report recommending that California establish a new technology department could ignite heated debate over who should ultimately approve big-ticket information technology projects.
The first reaction of many companies to 9/11 was to reorganize around the emerging opportunity. One lesson learned is that moving boxes around organization charts is a whole lot easier than designing, building and delivering new homeland security solutions.
A groundbreaking effort by Florida to turn welfare eligibility ruling over to the private sector is facing intense scrutiny by federal agencies that oversee public assistance programs.
	The Connecticut IT Department wants to buy off-the-shelf scheduling and daily payroll interface software that interoperates with PeopleSoft products. The department is managing the procurement for the Public Safety, Mental Health and Addictive Services and Correction departments.
	The New Jersey Labor Department is looking for program management services for its Unemployment Insurance Operations Modernization project. The state Division of Purchase and Property in the Treasury Department is managing the procurement.
The Kentucky Governor's Office of Technology is considering a statewide public safety interoperability plan, including development of an architecture and standards to ensure that new wireless systems will interoperate.
The Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles is modernizing its driver's license system. The current contract with Polaroid Corp. expires in February 2005. The state is exploring card formats and biometric technologies for the new system, which should be able to store photos and signature images, allow an audit trail, handle indexing and generate statistical data.
One of the first things Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (D) did when he took office last year was look for ways to whittle down the state's $2 billion budget shortfall.
State and local governments are wary of using unproven, untested technologies, and it's been a significant obstacle to early adoption of emerging technologies to support public-sector processes.
State and local governments want new interoperability standards and additional funding from the federal government to help them improve their ability to gather and analyze terrorist threat information.
N.Y. wants long-term care system The New York Office of Medicaid Management is developing a contract to create a point-of-entry system for the state's long-term care system.
Good times ahead? By 2008, state e-government spending will likely double over 2004 levels, according to a new report by Reston, Va., market research firm Input Inc.
Years ago when I served in a senior capacity with a fast-growing Sunbelt state, I always looked forward to meeting the top technology industry executives who came to town.
The purchasing department of the General Services Agency in Alameda County, Calif., requires purchasing card services, including a Web application that gives users account maintenance capabilities and access to transaction reports.
