Bill
HB 5505
Creates a legislature-led Digital Oversight Office to audit, intervene in, and improve state IT projects using modern, user-centered, secure, and open practices.
Purpose of the Bill
- Create the Digital Oversight Office within the Legislature to oversee state IT projects, services, and digital procurement.
- Promote modern software development practices and innovative procurement methods to improve efficiency, cost control, security, privacy, and user-centered digital services.
Key Provisions and Changes
1) Establishment and Governance
- Creates the Digital Oversight Office in the Michigan Legislature.
- Appoints a Digital Oversight Officer (DOO) to serve as the principal executive officer of the office.
- Term and removal: DOO serves a 3-year term; may be removed for cause by a 2/3 vote of members elected to and serving in each house.
- The DOO has authority to appoint staff to carry out office duties.
2) Core Responsibilities
- Investigate IT projects, services, and purchasing by state agencies.
- Overtake, join, or collaborate with state agencies on IT projects when appropriate.
- Support adoption of modern software development best practices, including:
- Agile development methodologies
- Open-source practices
- DevSecOps, modular contracting, user-centered design
- Iterative/incremental development, unified development infrastructure
- Service-oriented architecture and open-source software
- Emphasis on the 13 plays of the US Digital Service Digital Services Playbook:
1) Understand what people need
2) Address the whole experience
3) Make it simple and intuitive
4) Build with agile/iterative practices
5) Structure budgets/contracts to support delivery
6) Assign one leader and hold them accountable
7) Bring in experienced teams
8) Choose a modern technology stack
9) Deploy in a flexible hosting environment
10) Automate testing and deployments
11) Manage security and privacy through reusable processes
12) Use data to drive decisions
13) Default to open
- Study innovative procurement practices for digital products to ensure rapid, high-quality, user-centered services while complying with privacy, security, and accessibility standards.
3) Investigations and Complaint-Driven Authority
- The office may begin investigations or take over/join collaborations on IT projects:
- On its own initiative, or
- In response to a complaint from a state agency or individual about risks to cost, deadlines, or outcomes.
4) Procedures and Information Sharing
- The office must establish procedures for receiving/processing complaints and conducting investigations.
- State agencies must provide access to necessary information, records, and documents to support investigations.
- Confidentiality and penalties:
- The office inherits the confidentiality obligations of the providing agency.
- DOO staff may face civil/criminal penalties for unlawful disclosure.
- State officers/employees are generally not subject to civil/criminal penalties for providing requested information, except as otherwise provided by law.
5) Privilege and FOIA Exemptions
- The office cannot access records protected by attorney-client privilege, executive privilege, or records prohibited by a court order.
- All records of the office related to investigations are exempt from FOIA disclosure.
6) Fiscal and Administrative Details
- The bill envisions establishing the office and hiring staff, with anticipated annual costs similar to the Office of the Auditor General if 10–15 employees are hired.
- Estimated annual cost range: $1.8 million to $2.7 million, depending on workload and staffing.
Scope and Impact
Timeline and Process
Notes
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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