Section 50-25-7.1 - Technology empowerment fund; appropriations; initiatives; steering committee; release of funds(a) The authority is authorized and directed to establish a technology empowerment fund to be administered by the authority. The fund shall consist of such moneys appropriated or otherwise available to the authority as the board may determine from time to time to deposit therein. Subject to the appropriations process, the decision-making and priority-setting responsibilities for allocating these funds are vested in the chief information officer and the director of the Office of Planning and Budget.(b) The chief information officer is authorized to identify and select individual projects, initiatives, and systems to improve service delivery to be funded through the technology empowerment fund. Such projects shall demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the chief information officer, reduced costs through the use of technology. In identification and selection of such projects, initiatives, and systems, the chief information officer shall give priority to those which provide demonstrable cost savings and improved service delivery on a recurring basis through the employment of technology and training. Eligible projects, initiatives, and systems to receive disbursements from the technology empowerment fund may be selected from agency budget requests. Quarterly reports of the operations of the technology empowerment fund shall be required to be made to the board, the Office of Planning and Budget, the Senate Budget and Evaluation Office, and the House Budget and Research Office to ensure proper oversight and accountability.(c) Each project or initiative developed and supported from the technology empowerment fund shall employ technology that is compatible with the architecture and standards established by the authority and shall be accounted for by a discrete account established for the individual project or initiative item in the operating budget and capital budget.(d) A steering committee composed of the chairperson of the House Committee on Appropriations or his or her designee from among the membership of the committee, the chairperson of the Senate Appropriations Committee or his or her designee from among the membership of the committee, the director of the Office of Planning and Budget, the House Budget and Research Office, the Senate Budget and Evaluation Office, the state auditor, and a representative from the Governor's office shall advise and consult with the chief information officer regarding initiatives to receive funding from the technology empowerment fund and shall receive quarterly reports from the chief information officer as to the status of funded projects.(e) Upon enactment of enforceable uniform standards for the submission of electronic records to the Georgia Crime Information Center promulgated pursuant to paragraph (5) of subsection (h) of Code Section 15-5-24.1 by the Criminal Data Exchange Board, and subject to the availability of appropriations and moneys otherwise available to the authority, the authority is authorized to release funds from the technology empowerment fund for the purpose of installing or upgrading criminal justice information systems to be used by criminal justice agencies for complying with their respective obligations to provide information and data to the Georgia Crime Information Center. No release of funds pursuant to this paragraph shall be made on or after July 1, 2027.Amended by 2023 Ga. Laws 88,§ 12, eff. 5/1/2023.Amended by 2022 Ga. Laws 717,§ 18, eff. 7/1/2022.Amended by 2014 Ga. Laws 669,§ 50, eff. 4/29/2014.