Massachusetts 2023 2023-2024 Regular Session

Massachusetts House Bill H4648 Introduced / Bill

Filed 05/15/2024

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        FILED ON: 5/16/2024
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 4648
House bill No. 4642, as amended and passed to be engrossed by the House. May 15, 2024.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)
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An Act to provide for the future information technology needs of Massachusetts..
Whereas, The deferred operation of this act would tend to defeat its purpose, which is to 
provide forthwith for the information technology and security needs of the commonwealth and 
deploy broadband access to the citizens of the commonwealth, therefore it is hereby declared to 
be an emergency law, necessary for the immediate preservation of the public convenience.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority 
of the same, as follows:
1 SECTION 1. To provide for a program of capital investments for information technology 
2and data and cyber-security improvements to various state programs, services, agencies, 
3institutions and properties and to fund technology infrastructure, the sums set forth in sections 
42A, 2B and 2C of this act, for the several purposes and subject to the conditions specified in this 
5act, are hereby made available through December 31, 2030, subject to the laws regulating the 
6disbursement of public funds, which sums shall be in addition to any other amounts previously 
7appropriated for these purposes; provided, that the amounts specified for a particular project may 
8be adjusted in order to facilitate projects authorized in this act. 
9 SECTION 2A.
10 EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF TECHNOLOGY SERVICES AND SECURITY 2 of 12
11	Office of the Secretary
12 1790-3014For costs associated with initiatives, projects and expenditures to make 
13improvements to the quality, consistency, efficiency and delivery of any service or program for 
14the benefit of the public and the interactions between 	residents and state agencies and 
15instrumentalities of the commonwealth, including, but not limited to, planning and studies, the 
16preparation of plans and specifications, purchase, procurement, acquisition, licensing and 
17implementation of information technology, telecommunications and data-security-related 
18equipment, hardware, software, systems, intellectual property and related projects for various 
19state agencies of the commonwealth; provided, that for projects the secretary of administration 
20and finance certifies to the comptroller directly or indirectly generate state revenue or budgetary 
21savings, the comptroller shall transfer such revenue or budgetary savings to the state treasurer for 
22payment of debt service related to those projects; provided further, that any federal 
23reimbursement received by a state agency in connection with projects funded from this item may 
24be retained by the state agency or the executive office of technology services and security and 
25expended for the purposes of the project, without further appropriation, in addition to the 
26amounts appropriated in this item………………………………………………..…..$750,000,000
27 1790-3015For costs associated with initiatives, projects and expenditures to make 
28improvements to the quality, consistency, efficiency and delivery of any service or program to 
29support, improve, extend, secure or maintain technology or telecommunications infrastructure, 
30including, but not limited to, planning and studies, the preparation of plans and specifications, 
31purchase, procurement, acquisition, licensing and implementation of information technology, 
32telecommunications and data-security-related equipment, hardware, software, systems, 
33intellectual property and related projects for various state agencies of the commonwealth;  3 of 12
34provided, that for projects the secretary of administration and finance certifies to the comptroller 
35directly or indirectly generate state revenue or budgetary savings, the comptroller shall transfer 
36such revenue or budgetary savings to the state treasurer for payment of debt service related to 
37those projects; provided further, that any federal reimbursement received by a state agency in 
38connection with projects funded from this item may be retained by the state agency or the 
39executive office of technology services and security and expended for the purposes of the 
40project, without further appropriation, in addition to the amounts appropriated in this 
41item………………………………………………………………………………...$200,000,000
42 1790-3016For costs associated with planning and studies, the preparation of plans 
43and specifications, purchase, procurement, acquisition, licensing and implementation of 
44information technology, telecommunications and data-security-related equipment, hardware, 
45software, systems, intellectual property and related projects for various state agencies and public 
46instrumentalities of the commonwealth to mitigate, avoid or respond to risks to the security of 
47the commonwealth’s technology and telecommunications infrastructure or operations; provided, 
48that for projects the secretary of administration and finance certifies to the comptroller directly or 
49indirectly generate state revenue or budgetary savings, the comptroller shall transfer such 
50revenue or budgetary savings to the state treasurer for payment of debt service related to those 
51projects; provided further, that any federal reimbursement received by a state agency in 
52connection with projects funded from this item may be retained by the state agency or the 
53executive office of technology services and security and expended for the purposes of the 
54project, without further appropriation, in addition to the amounts appropriated in this 
55item……….…………………………………………………………………….……$200,000,000 4 of 12
56 1790-3017For costs associated with planning and studies, the preparation of plans 
57and specifications, purchase, procurement, acquisition, licensing and implementation of 
58information technology, telecommunications and data-security-related equipment, hardware, 
59software, systems, intellectual property and related projects for various state agencies of the 
60commonwealth, including, but not limited to, executing strategic initiatives, improving business 
61intelligence and modernizing governmental functions; provided, that for projects the secretary of 
62administration and finance certifies to the comptroller directly or indirectly generate state 
63revenue or budgetary savings, the comptroller shall transfer such revenue or budgetary savings to 
64the state treasurer for payment of debt service related to those projects; provided further, that any 
65federal reimbursement received by a state agency in connection with projects funded from this 
66item may be retained by the state agency or the executive office of technology services and 
67security and expended for the purposes of the project, without further appropriation, in addition 
68to the amounts appropriated in this item…………………………………………..…$250,000,000
69 SECTION 2B.
70	EXECUTIVE OFFICE FOR ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE
71	Office of the Secretary
72 1100-2519For costs associated with initiatives, projects and expenditures to the 
73quality, efficiency and delivery of any service or program for the benefit of the public and the 
74interactions between residents and state agencies and instrumentalities of the commonwealth, 
75including, but not limited to, planning and studies, the preparation of plans and specifications, 
76purchase, procurement, acquisition, licensing and implementation of artificial intelligence and 
77machine learning systems for the various state agencies of the commonwealth; provided, that  5 of 12
78such initiatives, projects and expenditures shall be in 	accordance with enterprise security policies 
79and other applicable administrative directives issued under section 3 of chapter 7D of the 
80General Laws and approved by the executive office of technology services and security; 
81provided further, that for projects the secretary of administration and finance certifies to the 
82comptroller directly or indirectly generate state revenue or budgetary savings, the comptroller 
83shall transfer such revenue or budgetary savings to the state treasurer for payment of debt service 
84related to those projects; and provided further, that any federal reimbursement received by a state 
85agency in connection with projects funded from this item may be retained by the state agency or 
86the executive office of technology services and security and expended for the purposes of this 
87project, without further appropriation, in addition to the amounts appropriated in this 
88item……………………………………………………………………………………$25,000,000
89 1599-1953For a competitive, matching grant program to be administered by the 
90executive office for administration and finance, in consultation with the secretary of technology 
91services and security, to assist municipalities and tribal governments with the construction of 
92fiber broadband infrastructure and related projects and expenditures; provided, that priority for 
93grants shall be given to completely unserved premises …………………………...…$30,000,000
94 SECTION 2C.
95	EXECUTIVE OFFICE FOR ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE
96	Office of the Secretary
97 1100-2518For capital funding for eligible cities, towns, regional organizations, 
98including regional school districts and regional vocational technical high schools, whose 
99membership is exclusively composed of municipal governments, tribes, local governmental  6 of 12
100agencies, authorities or subdivisions, quasi-state agencies, public authorities and institutions and 
101similar governmental agencies, for purposes, including, but not limited to, addressing threats to 
102information systems, managing and reducing systemic risk, improving security of critical 
103technology infrastructure and improving resilience; provided, that investments may include, but 
104shall not be limited to, planning and studies, improvement to government efficiency and 
105effectiveness, preparation of plans and specifications, asset modernization, information 
106technology equipment and technical assistance.………………………………....…..$150,000,000
107	Department of Revenue
108 1201-0003For the division of local services within the department of revenue, for 
109grants to carry out the community compact information technology grant program established in 
110conjunction with executive order 554…………………………………………………$25,000,000
111 SECTION 2D.
112	EXECUTIVE OFFICE FOR ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE
113	Office of the Secretary
114 1599-1954For local information technology projects; provided, that not less than 
115$300,000 shall be expended for information technology upgrades for Gloucester city hall in the 
116city of Gloucester; provided further, that not less than $100,000 shall be expended for the city of 
117Worcester’s division of inspectional services to administer the online fire safety, health code and 
118rental registry programs; provided further, that not less than $100,000 shall be expended for the 
119city of Worcester to study and implement software improvements to operate the electrical 
120distribution gear at the municipal water treatment facility; provided further, that not less than  7 of 12
121$100,000 shall be expended for the city of Worcester to procure technology and electronic 
122security improvement upgrades at the Park avenue and Webster square fire stations; provided 
123further, that not less than $50,000 shall be expended for the Worcester public schools to study 
124and implement electronic security improvement upgrades at schools that service students in the 
125Main South neighborhood; provided further, that not less than $250,000 shall be expended for 
126the city of Worcester to modernize traffic signal systems to improve the flow of traffic and 
127increase safety for drivers, pedestrians and cyclists; provided further, that not less than $750,000 
128shall be expended to and disbursed equally among the town of Canton, the town of Stoughton 
129and the town of Avon for information technology upgrades; provided further, that not less than 
130$43,000 shall be expended to the Medford fire department for the purchase of headset 
131communication devices; provided further, that not less than $150,000 shall be expended to the 
132city of Medford for the payment portal to increase accessibility to city services; provided further, 
133that not less than $100,000 shall be expended to the town of Leicester to procure and install 
134workstations and data servers for use by municipal and public safety departments that are 
135compliant with updated data security standards; provided further, that not less than $200,000 
136shall be expended to the city of Medford for improvement and renovation of the network 
137infrastructure; provided further, that not less than $50,000 shall be expended to the town of 
138Leicester for a more user-friendly customer service portal to facilitate compliance with business, 
139planning and zoning ordinances; provided further, that not less than $500,000 shall be expended 
140for data center modernization upgrades in the city of Worcester; provided further, that not less 
141than $100,000 shall be expended to the town of Hingham for the South Shore Regional 
142Emergency Communications Center to run fiber optic cable for emergency dispatch 
143communications and to replace aging dispatch work stations; provided further, that not less than  8 of 12
144$150,000 shall be expended for the incorporation of artificial intelligence into business processes 
145in the city of Worcester; provided further, that not less than $17,000 shall be expended for 
146improvements to the Frances Perkins Library in the city of Worcester; provided further, that not 
147less than $200,000 shall be expended for municipal fiber and communications improvements to 
148municipal buildings in the town of West Boylston; provided further, that not less than $500,000 
149shall be expended for information technology upgrades for the city known as the town of 
150Braintree; provided further, that not less than $250,000 shall be expended for information 
151technology upgrades for the town of Holbrook; provided further, that not less than $20,000 shall 
152be expended for the city of Worcester’s Regional Emergency Communications Center to install 
153audio-visual gate and access controls to improve security by offering visual confirmation of 
154access requests to both the building and site, as well as automated entry on the site; provided 
155further, that not less than $50,000 shall be expended for the city of Worcester’s Meade street 
156office building to acquire door access controls and cameras; provided further, that not less than 
157$250,000 shall be expended for the city of Worcester information technology department to 
158develop a data lake and data warehouse model to improve local operations and efficacy; 
159provided further, that not less than $50,000 shall be expended for the Worcester public schools 
160for the purchase of software for the tracking of facilities master plans and deferred maintenance 
161projects to allow for the development of 5-year capital plans, maintenance spending and major 
162renovation or replacement projects; provided further, that not less than $100,000 shall be 
163expended for the Worcester public schools to upgrade their database servers to the latest version 
164to better deliver services and maintain security protocols; provided further, that not less than 
165$6,000 shall be expended for purchase of a new server in the town of Plympton; provided 
166further, that not less than $50,000 shall be expended to the town of Hull to upgrade the  9 of 12
167communications and technology infrastructure to outfit its new location; provided further, that 
168not less than $55,000 shall be expended for website upgrades and to allow for acceptance of 
169online payments in the town of Kingston; provided further, that not less than $200,000 shall be 
170expended for website upgrades and digitization of records for public viewing in the town of 
171Halifax; provided further, that not less than $160,000 shall be expended to the town of Wayland 
172to improve its cybersecurity and resiliency posture through improvements in their endpoint 
173security systems, development of both a comprehensive incident response plan and disaster 
174recovery plan and implementation of off-site disaster recovery infrastructure; provided further, 
175that not less than $85,000 shall be expended to the town of Lincoln to reconfigure and separate 
176the Lincoln public safety department’s information technology network so that it meets the 
177department of criminal justice information services’ security requirements; provided further, that 
178not less than $125,000 shall be expended to the town of Sudbury for information technology 
179improvements for the Sudbury public schools; provided further, that not less than $150,000 shall 
180be expended to the Darrell Lee Jenkins Jr. Resource Center, Inc. in the city of Springfield for 
181technology resources that provide support services to families who have been impacted by gun 
182violence; provided further, that not less than $500,000 shall be expended to New North Citizens 
183Council, Inc. in the city of Springfield for information technology infrastructure in the Barbara 
184Rivera Community Center to enable its delivery of community support services; provided 
185further, that not less than $500,000 shall be expended for Springfield Commonwealth Academy 
186in the city of Springfield for resources that provide technology and financial education to inner-
187city residents; provided further, that not less than $250,000 shall be expended for information 
188technology upgrades and digitization of records for the Ferreira-Mendes Portuguese-American 
189Archives at University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth; provided further, that not less than  10 of 12
190$250,000 shall be expended for internet upgrades including wi-fi for the New Bedford free 
191public library; provided further, that not less than $200,000 shall be expended for information 
192technology upgrades at Fitchburg city hall in the city of Fitchburg; provided further, that not less 
193than $100,000 shall be expended to the town of Lunenburg for cybersecurity improvements for 
194the Lunenburg public schools; provided further, that not less than $15,000 shall be expended for 
195municipal technology upgrades to accommodate remote work in the town of Blackstone; 
196provided further, that not less than $30,000 shall be expended for increasing security and 
197detection measures to prevent identity-driven breaches in the town of Arlington; provided 
198further, that not less than $300,000 shall be expended for network upgrades to increase access 
199and connectivity for public meetings and events in the town of Arlington; provided further, that 
200not less than $100,000 shall be expended for information technology improvements in the city of 
201West Springfield; and provided further, that not less than $43,000 shall be expended for 
202electronic voting technology upgrades in the town of Sharon……………………..$7,499,000
203	LEGISLATURE
204	House of Representatives
205 9600-2024For necessary information technology upgrades for the house of 
206representatives.................................................................................................................$5,000,000
207 SECTION 3. Chapter 29 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after 
208section 2DDDDDD the following section:-
209 Section 2EEEEEE. (a) There shall be established and set up on the books of the 
210commonwealth a separate, non-budgeted special revenue fund known as the Information 
211Technology Federal Reimbursement Fund, which shall be administered by the secretary of  11 of 12
212technology services and security. The secretary shall expend money in the fund for information 
213technology projects related to the commonwealth’s health and human services. There shall be 
214credited to the fund: (i) amounts equal to any federal financial participation revenues claimed 
215and received by the commonwealth for eligible expenditures made from this fund or from 
216eligible expenditures made in direct connection with eligible expenditures made from this fund; 
217and (ii) interest earned on any money in the fund. Amounts credited to the fund shall be 
218expended without further appropriation. 
219 (b) To accommodate timing discrepancies between the receipt of revenue and related 
220expenditures, the comptroller may certify for payment amounts not to exceed the most recent 
221revenue estimates as certified by the secretary to be transferred, credited or deposited under this 
222section. Money remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not revert to the General 
223Fund and shall be available for expenditure in subsequent fiscal years.
224 SECTION 4. To meet the expenditures necessary to carry out sections 2A and 2B, the 
225state treasurer shall, upon request of the governor, issue and sell bonds of the commonwealth in 
226an amount to be specified by the governor from time to time, but not exceeding, in the aggregate, 
227$1,055,000,000. All bonds issued by the commonwealth under this section shall be designated on 
228their face, “FutureTech Act of 2024”, and shall be issued for a maximum term of years, not 
229exceeding 10 years, as the governor may recommend to the general court under section 3 of 
230Article LXII of the Amendments to the Constitution. All such bonds shall be payable not later 
231than June 30, 2039. 
232 SECTION 5. To meet the expenditures necessary to carry out section 2C, the state 
233treasurer shall, upon request of the governor, issue and sell bonds of the commonwealth in an  12 of 12
234amount to be specified by the governor from time to time, but not exceeding, in the aggregate, 
235$175,000,000. All bonds issued by the commonwealth under this section shall be designated on 
236their face, “FutureTech Act of 2024”, and shall be issued for a maximum term of years, not 
237exceeding 30 years, as the governor may recommend to the general court under section 3 of 
238Article LXII of the Amendments to the Constitution. All such bonds shall be payable not later 
239than June 30, 2059.
240 SECTION 6. To meet the expenditures necessary to carry out section 2D, the state 
241treasurer shall, upon request of the governor, issue and sell bonds of the commonwealth in an 
242amount to be specified by the governor from time to time, but not exceeding, in the aggregate, 
243$12,499,000. All bonds issued by the commonwealth under this section shall be designated on 
244their face, “FutureTech Act of 2024”, and shall be issued for a maximum term of years, not 
245exceeding 10 years, as the governor may recommend to the general court under section 3 of 
246Article LXII of the Amendments to the Constitution. All such bonds shall be payable not later 
247than June 30, 2039.