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OLR Bill Analysis
sSB 1186
AN ACT CONCERNING DATA GOVERNANCE, REQUESTS FOR
PUBLIC RECORDS INVOLVING THE CONNECTICUT PRESCHOOL
THROUGH TWENTY AND WORKFORCE INFORMATION NETWORK
AND APPROVAL OF A SALE OF PROPERTY BY THE TOWN OF
WINDHAM.
SUMMARY
This bill makes various changes in the laws governing executive
branch data sharing and management. It allows the Office of Policy and
Management (OPM) secretary to create advisory boards to assist with
required data governance activities (i.e., developing a program to
access, link, analyze, and share data maintained by executive agencies
and to respond to data queries).
Current law authorizes the state’s chief data officer (CDO) to direct
executive branch agencies (excluding the Board of Regents for Higher
Education) on data use, management, sharing, coordination, and
formulation of the state data plan and transparency plans. The bill
expands the definition of “executive branch agency” to those agencies
with a department head. So, the state data plan and agency data officer
requirements (see BACKGROUND) would also apply to the offices of
Early Childhood, Military Affairs, Health Strategy, and Workforce
Strategy and the housing department.
Under existing law, CP20 WIN (Connecticut Preschool through
Twenty and Workforce Information Network) longitudinally matches
and links the data of participating state agencies and other organizations
to evaluate and inform policy and practice for education, workforce, and
supportive service efforts. Longitudinal means data tracking students
through time.
The bill limits requests for any public records or files under the state’s
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to the agency that originated the
records or files, including data elements shared between participating 2023SB-01186-R000629-BA.DOCX
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agencies under a CP20 WIN sharing agreement . It requires a
participating agency receiving a FOIA request for records or files that
did not originate from the agency to:
1. promptly refer the request to the originating agency to respond
to it directly; and
2. notify, in writing, the requestor about the referral, including the
originating agency’s name, address, and telephone number and
the referral date (§ 4).
By July 1, 2023, and notwithstanding any provision of the general
statutes, the bill also requires the OPM secretary to approve a proposed
purchase and sales agreement between the town of Windham and
Eastern Connecticut State University for the former Kramer Middle
School building, located at 322 Prospect Street, to the university as part
of its capital plan (§ 5).
Lastly, the bill eliminates a CDO annual reporting requirement on
executive branch high value data sharing methods (§ 3). It also makes
technical changes.
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2023, except the provision about the
Windham property sale is effective upon passage.
BACKGROUND
Executive Branch Agency Data
By law, executive branch agencies must designate one employee as
the agency data officer. The data officers serve as the agency point of
contact for inquiries, requests, or concerns regarding data access. Every
two years, the CDO, in consultation with the data officers and executive
branch agency heads, must update the state data plan that governs the
agencies’ information technology-related actions and initiatives.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Government Administration and Elections Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 13 Nay 6 (03/27/2023)