Topic: Information Technology

New technology trips up lawmakers as they struggle to adapt state laws to a 21st-century economy.

Much of the "work plan" put forth by both House Speaker Will Weatherford and Senate President Don Gaetz has either been accomplished or is on track. But two big-ticket items favored by Weatherford - expansion of vouchers and a move to push most new state workers into a defined contribution pension system - have hit turbulence in the Senate as session enters its final two weeks.

Sen. Jeff Brandes amended his bill preempting local ordinances regulating a car-ride service phone app. SB 1618 now applies only to a special district in Hillsborough County.

HB 7073 passed through the House unanimously, but the bill still needs to clear the Senate before heading to Gov. Rick Scott's desk.

There is renewed momentum for the measure this year, but differences between the House and Senate versions remain.

The House and Senate are getting closer to an agreement over a new information technology agency. House budget chief Seth McKeel used the bill Wednesday to signal his displeasure with the Department of Management Services for snubbing his committee last week.

Pinellas County school system administrators warn it would snarl lunchroom lines and waste money.

Lawmakers have responded to parents' concerns about schools gathering students' biometric data with a bill that would ban it and bills that would closely control school records. A Florida Current poll reflects worry among respondents about the future-is-now prospect.

Sponsors Sen. Dorothy Hukill, R-Orange Park, and Rep. Jake Raburn, R-Valrico, say there's no need to collect such identity information on children in Florida public schools. They also say parents are concerned that families are not consulted and don't know what data is being collected, or what's being done with it.

The stumbling start of CONNECT, the state's new unemployment system, has brought the debate over the scope of a new information technology department closer to a resolution.

The Department of Economic Opportunity will move its data storage to the Southwood Shared Resources Center in December, posing another potential hurdle to unemployed workers seeking benefits after the rocky transition to a new system last month.

Although they reached an impasse this year, lawmakers from both the House and Senate say they are hopeful they can reach a deal to consolidate the information technology functions of state agencies into one department.