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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR	Rodella		DATE TYPED	1/29/04		HB	189
SHORT TITLE		State Police Use of Computer Dispatch Systems				SB
					ANALYST		Paz

APPROPRIATION

Appropriation Contained		Estimated Additional Impact		Recurring or Non-Rec	Fund Affected
FY04	FY05	FY04	FY05
	$3,900.0			Non-recurring	General Fund
			$78.0-$195.0	Recurring	General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Responses Received From

Office of the Chief Information Officer

Department of Public Safety

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 189 appropriates $3.9 million from the general fund to the department of public safety to procure additional computer-assisted dispatch systems in state police vehicles.

According to department of public safety, mobile lap-top computers in state police vehicles will allow officers to communicate with the computer-aided dispatch software located in the radio rooms. Drivers license checks, registration checks, wanted persons checks as well as emergency call information are at the finger tips of the officers

Significant Issues

According to department of public safety, this project is already half complete with CAD installed in all State Police dispatch centers and half of the uniform districts currently using mobiles.

The legislature has appropriated a total of $3.1 million of general funds to this project in prior years.

The House Appropriation and Finance Committee, Computer Subcommittee, did not recommend any special appropriations in FY04 and FY05 to continue this project. The HAFC Computer Subcommittee has instead recommended information technology special appropriations for the department of public safety be prioritized towards stabilizing their network infrastructure.

Various internal and independent network assessments published in 2003 identified significant network vulnerabilities and recommended these vulnerabilities be addressed prior to the implementing any additional technology. As of January 2004, significant tasks to address known network vulnerabilities are still pending. An updated independent assessment needs to be performed to confirm the status of all network stabilization efforts.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $3.9 million contained in this bill is a non-recurring expense to the general fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of Fiscal Year 2005 shall revert to the general fund.

The department of public safety can expect to incur on-going maintenance to their base operating budget of approximately 2% to 5% percent per year ($78 to $195 thousand annually). A replacement cycle to replace this equipment every four years would result in an annual recurring base budget general fund expenditure of $975 thousand beginning in fiscal year 2009.

EP/njw