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HB 2270

Creating a Washington state department of housing.

2023-2024 Regular Session Introduced by Emily Alvarado and 48 co-sponsors

HB 2270 centralizes Executive Branch IT under the CITO/OITS, expanding cloud/telecom oversight and requiring CITO approval for $75,000+ procurements; LPA audits must go to CISOs.

By resolution, returned to House Rules Committee for third reading.
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Bill Summary · HB 2270

HB 2270 — Summary (Information Technology; CITO/CISO; cloud, telecommunications, IT audits)

Status (as provided)
- Introduced: January 30, 2025
- Committee hearing (Wednesday, March 5, 2025, 9:00 AM Room 218‑N): CANCELED
- Requested by: Rep. Patrick Penn; recommended by House Committee on Legislative Modernization
- Fiscal note (Division of the Budget / OITS): enactment would have no fiscal effect on OITS

Purpose
- Modernize and consolidate statutes governing Executive Branch information technology (IT) services and authority of the Chief Information Technology Officer (CITO), clarify telecommunications/cloud responsibilities, and require certain Legislative Division of Post Audit (LPA) IT audit reports be provided to the relevant Chief Information Security Officer (CISO).

Key provisions and changes
1. New/expanded CITO responsibilities
- Prepare and lead implementation of enterprise IT strategic direction for the Executive Branch.
- Establish standards and policies to ensure consistent, efficient IT operations across Executive Branch agencies.
- Analyze Executive Branch agency IT expenditures to identify opportunities and efficiencies.
- Monitor agency compliance with components of the strategic IT management plan adopted by the Information Technology Executive Council (per fiscal note language).

  1. Central processing and cloud services

    • Office of Information Technology Services (OITS) must provide cloud services for Executive Branch agencies (in addition to data processing and application hosting).
    • Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) cloud services must be performed by or contracted through OITS.
    • Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications must be registered and inventoried with OITS.
    • Any procurement of central processing units or distributed computing equipment costing $75,000 or more by an Executive Branch agency requires approval by the Executive Branch CITO.

  2. Telecommunications authority

    • CITO authority over telecommunications expanded to include control over telecommunications equipment and related software; definition broadened to include networking and telephony hardware, telecommunications software, and telecommunications cloud solutions. Cellular and satellite phones are expressly excluded from that definition.
    • CITO may authorize a division, department, or agency to procure its own telecommunications services/equipment/software provided the procured items are compatible with OITS technology.

  3. IT audit reporting

    • Written reports of IT audits performed by the Legislative Division of Post Audit (LPA) must be furnished to the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) of the branch that contains the audited agency, in addition to other statutory recipients.

Who would be affected
- Executive Branch agencies and their IT procurement processes (cloud, central processing, telecom equipment).
- Office of Information Technology Services (OITS) — expanded service/oversight role.
- Executive Branch CITO and branch CISOs (new reporting and oversight duties).
- Legislative Division of Post Audit — audit distribution requirements.
- Potentially the Judicial Branch — committee testimony indicated the Judicial Branch sought an exemption to retain control over its own cloud/telecom procurement.

Procedural / implementation notes
- The bill amends multiple statutes (K.S.A. 46-1135, 75-4704, 75-4705, 75-4709, 75-4710 and 75-7205 Supp. 2024 as listed in the introduced version).
- OITS reported no fiscal impact from enactment.
- Committee hearing was canceled (March 5, 2025); prior committee discussion included neutral testimony from the Office of Judicial Administration proposing a Judicial-branch carve‑out.

Potential issues to watch
- Effect on agency autonomy and procurement timelines for cloud/compute/telecom purchases (CITO approval requirement for $75,000+ procurements).
- Scope of the expanded “telecommunications equipment” definition vs. the exclusion for cellular/satellite phones.
- Interaction with Judicial Branch operations if no carve‑out is adopted.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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