00:01 - The following program is sponsored in part by

00:04 - customer's bank.

00:14 - We are joined today by state representative Paul friel your co-sponsoring a bill that

00:17 - would streamline i t services for all four legislative

00:21 - caucuses what prompted you to offer this spell.

00:25 - Well this is something i do has been discussed for awhile and not not just within our

00:29 - caucuses but also with the you know different departments within the administration

00:34 - you know when i looked at.

00:36 - You know the i t services that the state uses from

00:39 - dhs to the department of energy the department of education.

00:44 - They're not they're on different databases there are

00:46 - they don't talk to each other we can't easily aggregate.

00:50 - Information in that i think that was really where it started was was

00:55 - the lack of

00:55 - sort of the aggregation the ease of of getting information that are in in

01:00 - different systems

01:01 - and said like you know so what are some ways that we can start to work towards.

01:05 - Making it a little more efficient a little more easy debt to

01:08 - access the data

01:09 - why do the caucuses currently have separate i t service contracts.

01:15 - Good question i mean i think it's just evolved

01:17 - over time because you know it didn't start out

01:20 - you know the world.

01:22 - Of ita it it's really how did caucuses function with

01:25 - with there.

01:27 - Was our staff with legislative

01:29 - initiatives with research and kind of as technology.

01:33 - Came on it was just

01:35 - bought into the existing system vs designed from.

01:39 - You know if you were going to design it today brand new

01:42 - and didn't have.

01:44 - Three hundred years of of

01:46 - experience it would probably look a lot different

01:49 - but it's just that legacy systems and legacy structures

01:53 - that technology fit into vs designing it's something for the.

01:57 - How technology is evolving today.

02:00 - If the

02:01 - f b i t service contracts were consolidated

02:04 - how would you

02:05 - deal with concerns regarding privacy or

02:07 - perhaps political mistrust among the caucuses.

02:11 - A

02:11 - listener can still be separation of.

02:14 - Some of the infrastructure in terms of people

02:17 - and who manages what who has access to what

02:19 - i mean and those can still be sapper are

02:21 - truly not so much the people part of it as it

02:24 - is the

02:25 - the overall that the contracts the purchasing the platforms.

02:29 - The cyber security pieces right that that that's really it

02:33 - and

02:33 - it is an inefficient way to.

02:36 - Use the system so

02:38 - i think of it more not that

02:40 - will probably don't you're not going to see like

02:42 - people are staffing it's really going to be.

02:46 - They have the purchasing power and the uniform

02:48 - platform and how cyber security in some of the

02:51 - outside threats.

02:53 - Are more concerning

02:54 - i don't really think there's a real problem between

02:56 - the caucuses the surly

02:59 - and your legislation would also

03:01 - ultimately determine what services are needed and actually work through the

03:04 - contracting with i t service providers.

03:08 - Well i i think what you have to do is you'd have to sit down as

03:11 - you know there there have to be some form of.

03:15 - A

03:15 - joint management

03:17 - team that sits down to make these decisions and say

03:19 - you know we're bidding out and and it wouldn't be

03:22 - that everything has to be uniform and just pick

03:24 - pick

03:25 - one idea

03:26 - i think what you'd say is if you're gonna do a contract with Microsoft

03:29 - re we should have a contract with Microsoft for office let's say or

03:33 - or some whatever standard things or if we're going

03:36 - to do stuffing as AI tools are coming into place.

03:39 - Where there's clutter anthropic or chatter one of these

03:42 - it's

03:43 - it's

03:44 - ok here's a tool and we're going to negotiate on behalf of the entire

03:48 - state government and not just limited just the legislature but just

03:52 - hey

03:52 - we're making a contract for the state of Pennsylvania

03:54 - that's access to all the state of Pennsylvania employees

03:57 - you know we should be able to to negotiate on behalf of all those employees

04:01 - and all those those needs and then those divisions

04:04 - and those organizations within the state the

04:07 - users

04:07 - you know

04:08 - their budget would be allocated appropriately

04:10 - but we'd be

04:12 - combining the purchasing power of

04:14 - the admit the legislature that the

04:16 - department of agriculture department of.

04:19 - Environment and and

04:20 - we'd all look at it as one

04:22 - contract one price

04:24 - and then

04:25 - whatever the group needs of services

04:27 - would be able to then

04:28 - it from there so think of it as like.

04:30 - That that consolidation of the purchasing power versus having it silent.

04:34 - When sharing

04:35 - providers do anything

04:37 - to impact the level of trust or the working relationships among lawmakers.

04:42 - Funny enough i i do think there is some benefit

04:44 - for us to get together and not be insists allowed.

04:48 - You know certainly having

04:50 - single email platform that we can all work together on.

04:54 - You know i

04:55 - think the war we can work together

04:57 - and

04:58 - between.

05:00 - You know

05:01 - the house and the senate

05:02 - cause we don't always talk to each other.

05:05 - That's not party that's both parties.

05:08 - I talked to morehouse members

05:09 - of the other party then i

05:11 - i do the senate sometimes

05:13 - but i think

05:13 - the more we can work together the more we're doing stuff together i think it's just a

05:17 - benefit so i'm a big believer now.

05:19 - How does the current situation having several

05:22 - interplay can't i t service contracts and patch

05:25 - the issue of security and privacy out within the legislature.

05:30 - Yeah and i think that's what I've seen from some of the outside expertise and i don't

05:34 - know i think the first step in the legislation is to study at right

05:37 - because we don't have the answers to this

05:40 - is

05:41 - the first thing you need to do as assessments

05:43 - and assess what the

05:45 - threats are and

05:46 - if they would be solved by

05:48 - you know pulling together or after

05:50 - those cyber threats with this third parse already security threats.

05:54 - You know or or improved or

05:56 - or hurt by doing this and and so before you

05:58 - make any move and say oh i have the solution

06:01 - the first step in the legislation is to

06:04 - let's let's actually look at this problem

06:06 - from a

06:06 - clean sheet of paper

06:08 - and say how would we design it

06:10 - if we are starting fresh today and then you could work towards that overtime

06:14 - for exactly those things like

06:16 - better

06:16 - better security better integration better better access to data.

06:22 - Have you gotten any at fiscal note or any estimates on what kind of savings can be

06:26 - achieved if these services were consolidated.

06:29 - No and i think we're a long way from that because i do think

06:32 - before we can

06:34 - even

06:34 - decide if there is any fiscal benefit

06:37 - or not

06:39 - it's the study

06:40 - what would be the best practice what would it look like if we were to do this and

06:44 - and also think you know things like the tools like AI and

06:48 - some of the new software.

06:50 - You know.

06:51 - Some folks

06:52 - here and i hear this in private industry all the time

06:54 - i hear it when we apply to the the administration.

06:57 - You could think of it oh will it cost.

07:00 - Save money will it will it cost jobs will replace people

07:05 - or you can look at as a force multiplier and say hey

07:07 - we can put tools in place that we can serve more people

07:11 - with the same resources we have so

07:13 - so i think of it was like hey we've budgeted this much money to

07:16 - get a department of transportation but maybe we can serve.

07:20 - Twice the number of people we could serve you more efficiently

07:23 - and improve provide more service for the same budget

07:27 - and i think we've gotta look at it that way where the needs that we're trying to

07:30 - address what's the budget do we have allocated for it

07:32 - and what is the best path that we could serve the most

07:36 - and

07:37 - provide the most service and i think that's where technology can bridge that and i'm

07:40 - really hoping that if we think of it that way

07:42 - you know it's a force multiplier not really.

07:45 - You know we're not looking at the save necessarily maybe

07:48 - just be much more efficient in how we do it.

07:51 - Along those lines perhaps such a bill included

07:53 - any accountability measures to make sure that

07:55 - whatever contract the state as procurer as the

07:58 - most efficient effective i i t services that we can

08:01 - get for that money.

08:02 - Yeah i think that's a big piece of one or drafting legislation just be clear

08:06 - we've outlined what we'd want to do we haven't

08:09 - the the full drafted legislation isn't

08:11 - complete yet because we do want to study this first to really understand it.

08:16 - And i'm a big believer in so i think it's going to be incremental pieces here

08:20 - but transparency access to data security are

08:24 - absolutely.

08:26 - Important to to achieve in any of the goals such

08:28 - as thought about trying to hit a fiscal note

08:31 - but

08:32 - but

08:32 - have we.

08:34 - Do we have all those protections place with the guard rails in place

08:36 - to protect privacy the appropriate security

08:39 - not just amongst caucuses but with outside third parties

08:42 - and

08:43 - you know.

08:44 - Can we get more transparency of what's going on and the state government that

08:48 - even us as legislators

08:50 - easier access to what's happening around the state

08:53 - that would be really important as well.

08:55 - Can you look at models in other states that have already streamlined their i t

08:59 - services to get a sense of what you'd like to fall

09:01 - in this legislation that you're sponsoring.

09:05 - Why think think

09:06 - soothes think

09:07 - the models is not really necessary looking at other states but maybe other

09:09 - organizations so if you look at like

09:12 - education for example in Pennsylvania and a lot of our school districts we have

09:15 - multiple school districts and some of our our ccie use and

09:20 - they have joint purchasing agreements so all the school districts

09:23 - Chester county we have ten or twelve different school districts

09:26 - but they all buy together

09:28 - through the one

09:30 - machina sm so i think of it more like that look

09:32 - at those models that we've already had to create

09:35 - both efficiencies and

09:36 - cost savings

09:37 - separate schools separate management.

09:40 - Jointly purchasing

09:42 - jointly putting together contracts

09:44 - and i think we have some models at work and work well

09:47 - and it's really seeing you know what are those best

09:49 - practices who are already employing in other parks

09:52 - and adopt those up to the the state government.

09:55 - Or your colleagues and the general assembly responding to your proposal.

10:00 - I.

10:01 - Think it's early to tell yet cause it's it's.

10:05 - You know

10:06 - i

10:06 - think the idea of it we've had a lot of discussion on it you know Kuwait.

10:10 - What is it in how far does it goes it just the caucuses do we

10:13 - do we talk about the data.

10:16 - Available statewide so i think

10:18 - folks are more interested in in in a more expansive

10:21 - view of this and i think we just got to

10:23 - kind of walk before we run

10:25 - quite honestly because

10:26 - technology changes rapidly.

10:29 - We want to really understand the impacts of this

10:32 - and really understand the goals of it so i think that study that first step is

10:36 - is doing the study and doing the understanding of it

10:39 - and that will drive

10:41 - the scope of the projects

10:42 - and it will drive what is really achievable and and it is the

10:46 - kind of the juice worth the squeeze will we see any

10:49 - improved service extra.

10:52 - You know

10:53 - security

10:54 - what what will be the unpack and we we don't really know that yet

10:58 - but but i think it's worth it's really worth us looking at it

11:02 - and.

11:03 - Trying to understand how technology

11:06 - can be used better and and we're doing it efficiently.

11:09 - At twenty ten grand jury had recommended streamlining law i like

11:13 - the idea of San Francisco and the four legislative caucuses

11:15 - and then again i'm a bipartisan group of lawmakers

11:18 - pressing issue to leadership in two thousand and twenty one

11:21 - if this hasn't been dealt with yet what can you do

11:24 - to further encourage leaders to take the issue under consideration.

11:29 - I think we've

11:30 - you know it's obviously new leaders and then

11:32 - where they're not familiar with the twenty

11:34 - enough from you familiar to twenty ten

11:35 - the twenty twenty one letter and and talking about

11:38 - you know the prince services the other services here

11:41 - and certainly there's been a lot of with the shapiro administration have been

11:45 - you know

11:46 - getting through red tape or are moving obstacle was out of the way to be faster more

11:50 - efficient government looking at the permitting process.

11:53 - That the governor has put in place it's been a

11:55 - dramatic change in how quickly we've been able to get

11:58 - it stuff done with no

12:00 - with no change in the oversight rave with

12:02 - we've still been able to protect her citizens

12:05 - same thing here i think we just.

12:07 - Think the time's right

12:08 - technologies change rapidly use technology more than

12:12 - ever did.

12:13 - As a legislature

12:14 - so i think it's an inappropriate time to take a hard look at and see what

12:18 - works.

12:19 - Where is your bill in the legislative process.

12:23 - It's being drafted.

12:24 - So so we didn't get the memo to to really get

12:28 - a

12:28 - i feel for the support of of taking this further

12:31 - and so that's why i think the next the the most important part of the

12:35 - drafting right now

12:37 - is the scope of it you know so we're

12:39 - not biting off more than we can chew as you know

12:42 - trying to get something to the legislature.

12:44 - That would be

12:45 - really broad really expansive is difficult

12:48 - so it's it's

12:48 - making sure it's in chuckle pieces that

12:51 - we understand we understand the effort it would

12:53 - take and the costs it would take to do the studies.

12:56 - Conducted studies with and with what's the angle in mind

12:59 - so it's really defining that angle to finding what we're trying to do

13:03 - and hopefully we get something out there that everybody is.

13:07 - You know it's a real bipartisan effort to say hey let's work together and

13:11 - try to be as

13:12 - efficient and use technology to advance.

13:16 - And deliver more surface quite

13:18 - frankly for the budget dollars.

13:20 - Represented palfrey I'll thank you for joining us.

13:22 - Thank you so much for your time.

13:26 - Hmm hmm.