A4662

An Act concerning State government procurement documentation for information technology projects and supplementing Title 52 of the Revised Statutes.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. The Legislature finds and declares that:

a. As New Jersey’s government seeks to provide improved service at a lower cost to its citizens and technology continues to play an increased role in service delivery, the pace of change will continue to increase.

b. Programs that involve significant expenditures or major changes for large numbers of New Jersey residents should each be backed by a strong business case at its launch.

c. Research has consistently shown that projects with effective change management programs are significantly more likely to be successful than projects with little or no change management programs and are significantly more likely to come in on time and on or under budget.

d. Leading private businesses have grown and regularly utilize change management services to ensure that technological, organizational, and other changes are effectively implemented.

2. a. As used in P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill):

“Agency” means the same as that term is defined by section 3 of P.L.2021, c.392 (C.52:18A-233.3).

“Business case” means a justification for undertaking a project, program, or portfolio, that evaluates the benefit, cost, risk of alternative options, and rationale for the preferred solution.

b. Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, each State agency shall provide a written business case for every information technology project that exceeds $2.5 million in value. Such business case shall include at a minimum:

(1) a description of the business need for the project;

(2) a budget for the project;

(3) an estimate of its operational impacts;

(4) a review of available options to meet the business need;

(5) an outline of the benefits of a successful implementation to members of the public in this State and an outline with timeframes of anticipated benefits;

(6) a risk analysis; and

(7) an assessment of business process improvement, the need for process improvement, and corresponding change management.

c. Each written business case for a covered project shall be provided by each agency to the New Jersey Office of Information Technology at least 30 days prior to the request for any State funds or the issuance of any procurement documents for such project. The New Jersey Office of Information Technology shall, in consultation with the Division of Purchase and Property and the Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services, report to the Office of Management and Budget with findings and recommendations.

3. a. Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, each State agency shall provide a change management plan, and any resources as may be necessary for plan execution, for every information technology project that exceeds $2.5 million in value, that directly involves two or more State agencies, or that includes service delivery changes in existing programs which would significantly change existing business processes.

b. A change management plan shall incorporate at a minimum:

(1) a stakeholder analysis covering all impacted parties, including impacted groups, the number of impacted stakeholders, type and degree of impact, areas of concern and project opposition;

(2) an analysis of project impact on agency operations and workflow;

(3) an examination of the need for additional or related projects;

(4) an examination of additional systems required to manage the resultant change;

(5) a change risk assessment;

(6) primary sponsors for the change programs;

(7) a plan to optimize the efficiency of project implementation;

(8) a change management program approach; and

(9) a change management work plan for communication, coaching, training, sponsorship, organizational rollout and resistance to change.

c. When appropriate, State agencies shall seek best practices with private or public sector experts to develop and implement change management plans. Change management consulting may be independent of project implementation.

d. Each State agency shall provide written change management plans for covered projects to the New Jersey Office of Information Technology, the Division of Revenue Enterprise Services, the Division of Purchase and Property, and the Office of Management and Budget.

4. This act shall take effect on the 90th day following the date of enactment.

STATEMENT

This bill requires State agencies to submit certain documentation when a proposed information technology project meets certain criteria.

The bill requires State agencies to submit a written business case, which must include certain information at a minimum, to the Office of Information Technology when a proposed information technology project exceeds $2.5 million in value. The bill provides that State agencies will submit business cases to the New Jersey Office of Information Technology no later than 30 days prior to a request for State funding or the issuance of any procurement documents. The bill requires the New Jersey Office of Information Technology to, in consultation with the Division of Purchase and Property and the Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services, report findings and recommendations to the Office of Management and Budget.

The bill also requires State agencies to submit a change management plan, which must include certain information at minimum, to the Office of Information Technology when a proposed information technology project exceeds $2.5 million in value, involves two or more State agencies, or significantly changes existing business processes for service delivery within existing programs. The bill provides that State agencies will also consult external private or public sector experts on change management when appropriate. The bill requires State agencies to submit their change management plans to the New Jersey Office of Information Technology, the Division of Purchase and Property, the Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services, and the Office of Management and Budget.