Information Technology Authorization Committee (ITAC)

History & Organization

Information Technology operates as the central nervous system of Arizona State Government operations. Decision Support, Customer Service, Accountability, Financial Management, Personnel Management and Purchasing, to name a few, are all key business functions supported by Information Technology (IT).

Arizona State Government is divided into three branches: the Executive – led by the Governor; the Legislative - led by the elected leaders of the House of Representatives and Senate; and, the Judicial - led by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. The Information Technology Authorization Committee (ITAC) has jurisdiction to approve or reject IT projects with development costs exceeding $1 million for all three branches of government. ITAC’s membership includes representatives of all three branches, as well as three members with private sector experience in IT, and one at-large member who can be appointed from either the private sector, or state government service.

This assemblage brings together a statewide view of IT that can help policymakers and the public understand the challenges and opportunities facing IT professionals in public service. ITAC’s fundamental goal is to maximize the benefits derived from the public investment in computer systems, software and applications, and to minimize the risk of failure in application development and implementation. In most instances, the ITAC monthly meetings are the only public forums available for discussion of IT projects in Arizona’s State Agencies.

ITAC membership presently includes two State agency directors, the administrator of the Courts, four individuals who have previously held Chief Information Office positions at Fortune 500 companies, and advisory representatives from the Legislature (one member of the Arizona Senate appointed by the Senate President and one member of the House of Representatives appointed by the Speaker), one member from local government and one member from the federal government. They receive no compensation for their considerable service in this capacity.

ITAC receives support from the staff of the Government Information Technology Agency (GITA) which prepares all meeting materials and presents documentation on project justifications and status, as well as recommendations, for ITAC. GITA staff monitors Project Status and delivers reports from the agencies at least quarterly on all projects approved by ITAC. ITAC also provides important advice and feedback to GITA on agency initiatives, projects, standards and activities.

Since its first meeting on August 11, 1997, ITAC has reviewed over 50 projects from agencies. The total development cost of these approved projects exceeds $500 million.

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