Conference committee works on IT bond bill

A House-Senate conference committee is working out differences between technology bond bills passed this spring by each chamber.

The bills, both known as the FutureTech Act, aim to modernize the state’s IT and cybersecurity infrastructure, and include funding for several municipal grant programs.

The House passed its $1.23 billion bond bill on May 15, and the Senate passed a largely similar bill on June 6.

The bills include funding for a number of technology projects, including artificial intelligence and emerging technology, as well as for upgrading and modernizing government information systems.
Included in the bills are:
• $30 million to support the Municipal Fiber Grant Program
• $25 million to support the Community Compact IT Grant Program
• $150 million for local and regional IT security improvement projects
• $750 million to improve service delivery to the public, including $110 million for the Commonwealth Digital Roadmap, to standardize the user experience across state agencies and create new lines of constituent communication through applications such as live chat, and SMS technology

The Senate version includes several amendments to add funding for local IT and cybersecurity projects, and to provide oversight to the funding by requiring the secretary of Administration and Finance to report annually on project expenditures.

The bills are a mix of 10- and 30-year bonds, and use an additional $400 million in anticipated federal funding.

With previous IT bond acts set to be exhausted in fiscal 2025, Gov. Maura Healey got the process started by filing her IT bond bill in January.

The six-member conference committee is working to report out a bill for passage before the end of the formal legislative session on July 31.