The California Highway Patrol (CHP) is requesting a $ 15 million increase in its budget request for the coming fiscal year to fund the increase in IT costs.
The proposed budget revision (BCP) requires that amount to be included in the state budget for Fiscal Year 2022-23, which lawmakers will consider as part of the May revised budget, a final step toward improving adoption of the budget. If approved, the one-time allocation will come from the state Motor Vehicle Account and take effect July 1 or with the enactment of the FY 2022-23 state budget.
“As CHP continues to improve service and safety to California civilians through the implementation of new technologies and programs, the department has experienced an increase in information technology costs,” a BCP summary said.
“Baseline costs for these technologies include, but are not limited to, the department’s computer-aided dispatch system, statewide network upgrades, statewide wireless installations, modem replacements, disaster recovery, privacy and risk management, cybersecurity and threat assessment, cloud computing, and licensing of Microsoft Office 365, ”BCP said.
In a breakdown of how the money will be spent, the BCP shows an increase of approximately $ 13.3 million in baseline costs-about a 100 percent increase-over the past decade.
CHP says it is “constantly updating” its IT infrastructure to increase network security, provide more online services to the public and give officers the tools they need so they can spend more. lots of time on patrol duties.
At BCP, the department makes the case for spending:
“The department has invested in new cybersecurity and network monitoring tools that enhance the security and performance of the department’s IT network. These cybersecurity tools allow for the prevention of cybersecurity attacks, which can compromise confidential data and jeopardize the department’s ability to perform mission-critical roles. In accordance with the state’s Cloud Computing Policy, CHP invests in cloud computing tools where possible, such as the Microsoft Dynamics 365 warehouse management system, Palo Alto Traps endpoint protection, and ServiceNow ticketing system.
“In addition,” BCP said, “Microsoft Azure Cloud Services has been implemented to allow the department to continue performing mission -critical roles in the event of a catastrophic event. As cloud computing solutions increase accessibility and reduces some maintenance tasks for the department’s IT staff, these are extremely costly and greatly increased the department’s IT budget requirements.To allow officers to effectively perform patrol duties , the department provides officers with tablets, which help automate paper-based manual tasks and allow officers to perform various duties more efficiently.
Of the $ 15 million request, $ 13.3 million will go to this technology. The remaining $ 1.7 million will go to “critical updates to outdated infrastructure or future projects under development,” BCP said. “$ 1.7 million will fund the modernization of academic infrastructure and virtualization of division and area offices.”
The BCP includes a chart detailing CHP technology spending in the financial years 2012-13, 2016-17 and 2021-22, with line items.
