Publicly funded technology projects.

Existing law imposes various requirements governing public works and public purchases, including, among other things, protection of infrastructure, preferences, emergency conservation, access to buildings, and contract requirements. The Ralph M. Brown Act requires that all meetings of the legislative body, as defined, of a local agency be open and public and all persons be permitted to attend unless a closed session is authorized. The Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act requires, with specified exceptions, that all meetings of a state body be open and public and all persons be permitted to attend. This bill would require a public agency undertaking a publicly funded major technology project that is estimated to cost $100,000,000 or more to form an oversight committee subject to the Ralph M. Brown Act or the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act, as applicable, and to develop and use risk management plans throughout the course of the project. The bill would require the oversight committee to be composed of specified members selected by the public agency undertaking the project. The bill would require the oversight committee to act as the authority for critical decisions regarding the project and to have sufficient staff to support decisionmaking. By imposing new duties on local public agencies, the bill would create a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.