(a)   Established. Within the department there shall be established the division of enterprise technology strategy and services (ETSS), which shall include the office of information technology, the office of digital excellence (ODE), and the office of library and information services (OLIS). Within ETSS, there shall be a chief digital officer in the unclassified service who shall oversee and manage the division and shall be appointed by the director of administration. Any prior reference in statute to the division of information technology shall now mean ETSS. The chief digital officer shall supervise the state’s chief information officer, chief technology officer, chief information security officer, the directors of information technology, and all associated employees. The chief digital officer may promulgate rules and regulations in order to effectuate the purposes and requirements of this act.

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(b)   Purposes; duties. The purposes of ETSS shall be to align existing and future technology platforms, along with technical expertise, across the agencies of the executive branch. ETSS shall be responsible for managing and consolidating the strategy and budgets of the division, including the office of information technology, the office of library and information services and the office of digital excellence, and the information technology restricted receipt account. The focus of ETSS will be to lead the strategic technology decisions and efforts across all of the executive branch state agencies; identify opportunities to implement technology solutions across state agencies to prevent duplication of systems and effort; as well as effectively support these solutions in an efficient manner. ETSS shall have the following duties:

(1)  Manage the implementation of all new and mission-critical technology infrastructure projects and upgrades for state agencies. The office of information technology, under ETSS, shall manage and support all day-to-day operations of the state’s technology infrastructure, telecommunications, and associated applications;

(2)  Manage the office of digital excellence in order to ensure that large-scale technology projects are delivered in a timely manner in accordance with accepted best-industry practices;

(3)  To oversee the chief of library services and the office of library and information services to ensure that this office fulfills its statutory duties in an effective manner;

(4)  Coordinate efforts with the director of administration in order to plan, allocate, and implement projects supported by the information technology restricted receipt account (ITRR account) established pursuant to § 42-11-2.5(a) and the large systems initiatives fund (LSI fund) established pursuant to § 42-11-2.5(b);

(5)  Supervise all intellectual property created as a result of work undertaken by employees of ETSS to ensure that ownership of this intellectual property remains with the state. Any patents applied for shall be in the name of the state.

(c)   Reporting. The chief digital officer shall annually report no later than January 31 to the governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, and the senate president regarding the implementation status of all technology infrastructure projects; website improvements; number of e-government transactions and revenues generated; projects supported by the information technology restricted receipt account; and all other activities undertaken by the division. The annual report shall be posted on the ETSS website.