Committee Meeting Information

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Capitol Room 302

Cheyenne, Wyoming

 

Committee Members Present

Senator Cale Case, Co-Chairman

Representative Rosie Berger, Co-Chairman

Senator Ken Decaria (present via video conferencing system)

Senator Bill Landen

Representative Lori Millin

Representative Sue Wallis

 

Committee Members Absent

None

 

Legislative Service Office Staff

Dan J. Pauli, Director

Jim Griffin, Information Technology Section Manager

Patty Wells, Information Technology Specialist

Randi Todd, Computer Programmer

Wendy Madsen, Legislative Information Officer

Anthony Sara, Associate Legislative Information Officer

 

Others Present at Meeting

Please refer to Appendix 1 to review the Committee Sign-in Sheet
for a list of other individuals who attended the meeting.

 

Call To Order

Co-Chairman Case called the meeting to order at 8:30 a.m.  The following sections summarize the Committee proceedings by topic.  Please refer to Appendix 2 to review the Committee Meeting Agenda.

 

Approval of Minutes

Minutes from the June 4, 2008 Committee meeting were approved without changes.

 

Videoconferencing (Priority #4)

Demonstration of Room 302 audio and video upgrades

Mr. Anthony Sara gave an overview of the Room 302 audio-visual capabilities. This included a demonstration of the new microphones and loudspeakers; recording capabilities; media feeds; hearing assistance system; and an overview of the presentation mode of the room including laptop projections on the plasma screens, the ability to play DVD’s, and cable TV capabilities. Mr. Sara also demonstrated the audio and video conferencing system.

 

Demonstration of Wyoming Videoconferencing System (WVCS)

Joel Maslak from the Department of Administration and Information, Information Technology Division provided an overview of the Wyoming Video Conferencing System (WVCS) and demonstrated some of the technical features of the system. (See Appendix 3) He explained that the new Room 302 system can reach anywhere in the world and that he sees three primary uses of the new system: allowing legislators to attend committee meetings remotely if they are unable to attend in person or to hold a videoconferencing meeting; remote testimony by an expert or specialist for a committee; and to allow the public to participate in meetings and provide public comment from across the state.  He noted that the system is especially useful in the event of bad weather and to save on travel costs to meetings.  He stressed the need to schedule meetings as far in advance as possible, which is difficult in cases of inclement weather. 

 

Mr. Maslak also explained the fee structure associated with use of the system.  Ms. Pam Blackham from the Department of Administration and Information, Information Technology Division explained the use of contract staff from ADECCO to operate each of the remote sites.  The Committee raised concerns about the costs of using the system and the late scheduling penalties associated with system use on short notice.  Ms. Blackham explained that the new rate structure was developed to allow A&I to recoup upgrade costs and that the WVCS system is funded based on user fees, unlike the Department of Education’s system, which is funded through the school funding formula.

 

Representative Wallis asked if there was an ability to call into the system from a home computer or personal laptop. Mr. Maslak explained that A&I does not have the ability or technology for such use currently within the WVCS system, but that A&I recognizes the benefits of such a system and is working on cost estimates and what equipment would be necessary for this capability.  He noted that A&I will have to factor in potential problems such as computer viruses and unreliable internet connections.

 

Policy decisions related to videoconferencing and web conferencing

Ms. Wendy Madsen discussed potential policy issues that the Committee may wish to consider regarding future use of the video conferencing system (see Appendix 4).  She explained that staff will continue to develop these policy questions for future consideration by the Committee and the Management Council as staff and legislators gain a better understanding of the potential uses and technical issues involved in the system.  She also provided information from the Kentucky and Alaska Legislature about uses of their video conferencing systems.  (See Appendix 5 and 6).

 

Update on Selection of Consultant to Provide Project Management

 

Cancellation of RFP for project management

Mr. Jim Griffin updated the Committee on the reason for cancellation of the Master Information Plan RFP.  He explained that after conducting interviews with several firms and entering into negotiations with the top firm, that the company provided a fee estimate for the work that was significantly over budget and staff believed that the scope of work recommended by the consultant was larger than needed.  He explained that LSO believes that the best approach for conducting the work for the master information plan would be to take the current vacant position in the LSO information technology section and hire a project manager on staff to develop internal expertise and to work with the National Conference of State Legislatures to assist in identifying best practices in other state information technology functions. 

 

RFP for web site redesign

Mr. Griffin noted that a sub-section of the master information plan included provisions to move forward with a web site redesign that would incorporate a dynamic, database-driven infrastructure and to provide many of the resources currently provided across multiple databases and repositories, into a “one-stop shop.”  He recommended that staff proceed with looking into development of an RFP for this portion of the work. Mr. Bob Von Wolffradt, the Department of Administration and Information’s Chief Information Officer, spoke about a new state portal service his office is currently exploring and the ability for the LSO to use the State’s Master Service Agreement to select potential Web site design consultants, to speed up the RFP process. The Committee agreed that staff should explore options for moving forward with a Web site redesign. 

 

Policy Guidance (Priority #1)

Laptop policies

Mr. Griffin explained the current Management Council policy regarding legislator laptops and noted that one-third of the laptops are currently rotated out each year.  LSO would like to upgrade all 90 laptops at the same time this year to make sure that all legislators are using the same hardware, operating system, and software.  Staff also recommended purchase of Microsoft Office Business, rather than Microsoft Office Professional, which does not include Access, but would be available for separate purchase if a legislator requested the program. The Committee requested that staff consider the option of privacy filters on screens for the new laptops. The Committee recommended proceeding with the staff recommendation to replace all legislative laptops before the 2009 session. 

 

Wireless network demonstration and policies

Ms. Patty Wells explained a proposal to install a new dual wireless network that would provide an encrypted site for legislators and staff and an unencrypted site for the public.  This would also address the issue of legislator requests to use their personal laptops on the encrypted network, which is currently not allowed by Management Council.  With a dual network, legislators could use their personal laptops on the public portion of the site.  The one-time cost for the new system is $11,367.75.  The Committee also discussed potential need for filters, when the system would be operational and staff support for public users of the system. 

 

The Committee recommended purchase of the system and requested staff develop a policy for Management Council’s consideration regarding use of the system by the public, including whether to filter content and whether the public portion of the site should be operational year-round or just during legislative sessions.

 

Chamber printers

Ms. Wells explained that the printers in the chambers will need to be replaced by the 2010 session and that money is not currently in the budget to replace the printers, which cost approximately $3,000 each.  She noted that the funding for this equipment should be addressed in the future. 

Promotional Activities (Priority #2)

Ms. Madsen provided the Committee with an update on the information services that LSO provides to the public and explained the goals for the function in the future.  She noted that the Legislature appropriated $10,000 for promotional materials and that staff will use that funding to upgrade some of the publications produced by the LSO and to look at other promotional items to help the public better understand the legislative branch.  Ms. Madsen also explained that she has provided informal training for new members of the media before each session, but would like to explore a more formalized training session for both new reporters and veterans through the concept of a “Media Day at the Legislature” if there is interest in such training on the part of the media.

 

Voting Technology Options (Priority #5)

Ms. Joy Hill provided the Committee with a report on electronic voting that was compiled by LSO research staff and NCSL (see Appendix 7), as requested by the Committee at its June meeting.  She explained that the report provides the Committee with an overview of Wyoming’s voting processes, an overview of electronic voting system components, and a summary of the NCSL survey.  She reminded the Committee that Wyoming has a combination electronic voting system, where votes are cast orally and recorded and distributed electronically to the Legislature’s Web site in almost real-time.  Mr. Griffin noted that with the addition of a public wireless network, any member of the public with a laptop computer will be able to access this information in the House and Senate galleries.  Ms. Wells provided information on upgrading the current roll call voting system and costs associated with such work (see Appendix 8). 

 

The Committee discussed the distinction between electronic voting and the number of recorded votes.  Mr. Pauli noted that states that have fully electronic systems do not record more votes, as shown in the survey conducted by NCSL.  According to NCSL, Wyoming’s system is as accountable as any other state and provides more immediate access to the results of roll call votes than many states with display boards in their chambers.

 

Ms. Sarah Gorin from the Equality State Policy Center addressed the Committee and noted that she appreciated the information provided in the report.  She stated that her organization would like to see more information provided in the digest to help the public better understand the process and all of the associated documents that the public needs to access to understand the context.   

 

Miscellaneous Topics

Demonstration of new legislator biographical database and legislator profile form

Ms. Randi Todd demonstrated the new biographical database that staff created with demographic information on former and current legislators.  She explained all of the features available on the Web site, include the ability to search by name, party, district, county, year. She explained that there is a lot of missing data especially before 1961 that LSO will work to develop over time.  She explained that the feature is database driven and will make updating current legislator biographical information much easier for staff.  Mr. Griffin said the IT staff is doing as much validation as possible and is working on ways to update the database in a more efficient manner.  He explained that staff is working on an electronic form for legislators to fill out with biographical information and that staff may ask the Technology Committee to test the form. 

 

Amendment processing

Based on discussion at the last Committee meeting about difficulties reading amendments, Mr. Pauli presented a proposal for legal staff to provide more “amendments in context” to make amendments easier to read.  He explained the current process to draft “directive” amendments that state which words to insert and delete by page and line.  He noted that this is often difficult to track with the bill.  He explained that in certain circumstances, the LSO legal staff could actually delete several lines entirely and insert the new language.  He believes this would help legislators and the public better understand many amendments.  He presented a sample of the difference between directive amendments and amendments in context (see Appendix 9). He noted that LSO legal staff would need to decide when this option made the most sense to make the amendment easier to understand. The only concern according to Mr. Pauli is making a mistake when copying and pasting the changes over to the amendment and so the proposed rule includes flexibility for LSO to address these issues in the engrossing and enrolling process. The Committee recommended that this proposal be provided to the Rules Committees for their consideration. 

 

NCSL information about compilation of individual voting records

Ms. Madsen provided the committee with information from NCSL regarding compilation of individual voting records in other states, as requested by the Committee at its June meeting (see Appendix 10).  Mr. Griffin explained that Management Council policy restricts compilation of voting records by staff for anyone other than an individual legislator for their own votes. Ms. Wells reminded the committee that all roll-call votes from committee hearings and the floor are posted on the Web site, so individuals can do their own research.

 

Miscellaneous

Representative Wallis addressed the Committee regarding a proposal she is exploring to sponsor legislation to create a new standing committee related to technology and transparency in government and asked for their favorable consideration during session if she proceeds with the legislation (see Appendix 11). 

 

Meeting Adjournment

There being no further business, Co-Chairman Berger adjourned the meeting at 12:30 p.m.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

 

 

Senator Case, Co-Chairman

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Appendix		Appendix Topic		Appendix Description		Appendix Provider
1		Committee Sign-In Sheet		Lists meeting attendees		Legislative Service Office
2		Committee Meeting Agenda		Provides an outline of the topics the Committee planned to address at meeting		Legislative Service Office
3		Video Conferencing		Provides a list of FAQ’s on the WVCS System		Department of Administration & Information
4		Video Conferencing		A list of questions to consider when developing a policy for the Room 302 videoconferencing system		Legislative Service Office
5		Video Conferencing		Overview of the Kentucky State Legislature videoconferencing system		Legislative Service Office
6		Video Conferencing		Overview of the Alaska State Legislature videoconferencing system		Legislative Service Office
7		Voting Technology Options		Electronic Voting Report		Legislative Service Office/NCSL
8		Voting Technology Options		Estimate and description for upgrades to the current roll call voting system in the House and Senate		Legislative Service Office
9		Amendment Processing		Sample bill used to describe the Amendment Processing changes		Legislative Service Office
10		Voting Records		NCSL voting records state summary		National Conference of State Legislatures
11		Miscellaneous		Legislation for new standing committee		Representative Wallis