New VITA Law Provides for the CIO to Report to the Governor Through the Secretary of Technology

HERNDON, Va., March 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Northern Virginia Technology Council (NVTC) is pleased that Governor Bob McDonnell signed legislation into law today that provides for the Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the Commonwealth to report to the Governor through the Secretary of Technology. This legislation restructures the governance of the Virginia Information Technologies Agency (VITA) by creating a direct reporting structure between Virginia's CIO and Virginia's Secretary of Technology.  Under the new law, which becomes effective today, VITA and the CIO will no longer fall under the oversight of the Information Technology Investment Board (ITIB), an independent Board consisting of gubernatorial and legislative appointees.  The new legislation dissolves the ITIB and provides for the Governor to appoint the CIO, who serves as the head of VITA, and who reports to the Governor through Virginia's Secretary of Technology.

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"Passage of this legislation was a top NVTC priority. Northern Virginia's technology community has been a strong advocate for these governance reforms which increase accountability and authority between the CIO and the Executive Branch," said NVTC President & CEO Bobbie Kilberg.  "The private sector has long recognized that it is very difficult for a CEO to be successful if the company's CIO reports outside the chain of command and is not accountable and responsible to the CEO. With the passage of this legislation, the Commonwealth of Virginia has strongly delineated lines of authority, accountability and responsibility within the state's information technology governance structure. We believe Virginians will be better served as a result."

NVTC expresses its appreciation to the bill's Chief Sponsors Senators Janet Howell, Walter Stosch and Delegate Kathy Byron, to all those in the legislature who worked for and actively supported its passage, and to Governor McDonnell, Secretary of Technology Duffey and the McDonnell Administration for their strong leadership and bipartisan approach in achieving this major reform.

The Northern Virginia Technology Council (NVTC) is the membership and trade association for the technology community in Northern Virginia and is the largest technology council in the nation. NVTC has about 1,000 member companies representing more than 200,000 employees. Its membership includes companies from all sectors of the technology industry and the service providers that support these companies, as well as universities, foreign embassies, non-profit organizations and governmental agencies. NVTC is recognized as the nation's leader in providing its technology community with networking and educational events; specialized services and benefits; public policy advocacy; branding of its region as a major global technology center; initiatives in targeted business sectors and in the international, entrepreneurship, workforce and education arenas; the Equal Footing Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charity that serves local area youth; and The Entrepreneur Center @NVTC which mentors new technology entrepreneurs. Visit NVTC at www.nvtc.org

SOURCE Northern Virginia Technology Council

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