42.720 Legislative findings. The General Assembly finds and declares that: (1) The establishment of the position of the executive director of the Commonwealth Office of Technology, appointed by the secretary of the Finance and Administration Cabinet with the approval of the Governor, as the Commonwealth's single point of contact and spokesperson for all matters related to information technology and resources, including policies, standard setting, deployment, strategic and tactical planning, acquisition, management, and operations is necessary and in keeping with the industry trends of the private and public sectors; (2) The appropriate use of information technology by the Commonwealth can improve operational productivity, reduce the cost of government, enhance service to customers, and make government more accessible to the public; (3) Government-wide planning, investment, protection, and direction for information resources must be enacted to: (a) Ensure the effective application of information technology on state business operations; (b) Ensure the quality, security, and integrity of state business operations; and (c) Provide privacy to the citizens of the Commonwealth; (4) The Commonwealth must provide information technology infrastructure, technical directions, and a proficient organizational management structure to facilitate the productive application of information technology and resources to accomplish programmatic missions and business goals; (5) Oversight of large scale and government statewide systems or projects is necessary to protect the Commonwealth's investment and to ensure appropriate integration with existing or planned systems; (6) A career development plan and professional development program for information technology staff of the executive branch is needed to provide key competencies and adequate on-going support for the information resources of the Commonwealth and to ensure technology staff will be managed as a Commonwealth resource; information that the (7) The Commonwealth is in need of information technology advisory capacities to the Governor and the agencies of the executive cabinet; (8) Appropriate public-private partnerships to supplement existing resources must be developed as a strategy for the Commonwealth to comprehensively meet its spectrum of information technology and resource needs; (9) Technological and theoretical advances in information use are recent in origin, immense in scope and complexity, and change at a rapid rate, which presents Kentucky with the opportunity to provide higher quality, more timely, and more cost-effective government services to ensure standardization, interoperability, and interconnectivity; (10) The sharing of information resources and technologies among executive branch state agencies is the most cost-effective method of providing the highest quality and most timely government services that would otherwise be cost-prohibitive; (11) The ability to identify, develop, and implement changes in a rapidly moving field demands the development of mechanisms to provide for the research and development of technologies that address systems, uses, and applications; and (12) The exercise by the executive director of the Commonwealth Office of Technology of powers and authority conferred by KRS 42.720 to 42.742, 45.253, 171.420, 186A.040, 186A.285, and 194A.146 shall be deemed and held to be the performance of essential governmental functions. Effective: June 25, 2009 History: Repealed, reenacted, and amended 2009 Ky. Acts ch. 12, sec. 2, effective June 25, 2009. -- Amended 2005 Ky. Acts ch. 85, sec. 21, effective June 20, 2005; and ch. 99, sec. 3, effective June 20, 2005. -- Repealed, reenacted, and amended 2000 Ky. Acts ch. 506, sec. 1, effective July 14, 2000; and ch. 536, sec. 1, effective July 14, 2000. -- Created 1998 Ky. Acts ch. 353, sec. 1, effective July 15, 1998. Formerly codified as KRS 11.501 and 61.935.