Report 2011-504 Recommendation 23 Responses

Report 2011-504: High-Speed Rail Authority Follow-Up: Although the Authority Addressed Some of Our Prior Concerns, Its Funding Situation Has Become Increasingly Risky and the Authority's Weak Oversight Persists (Release Date: January 2012)

Recommendation #23 To: High-Speed Rail Authority, California

To effectively manage its contracts, the Authority should immediately begin the process of soliciting competitive bids for its IT services.

6-Month Agency Response

The Authority asserted that it is moving toward in-house IT support rather than contractors. Specifically, the Authority stated that it hired a DPM II on March 5, 2012. According to the Authority's response, the new DPM II has moved the Authority's network connection from the cloud to the California Technology Agency (CTA) and has implemented the movement of the exchange services from its previous contractor—PK Inc.—to CTA-California Email Service (CES) mail. The Authority claims the process of migrating the electronic mail system to CES will be approximately six to 13 months. Additionally, the Authority stated that desktop support has been transitioned in-house with the support of one full-time associate information systems analyst and a student intern. The Authority further indicated that two retired annuitants have been hired to support the server and network administration, and application development. (See 2013-406, p. 248)

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Fully Implemented

All Recommendations in 2011-504

Agency responses received after June 2013 are posted verbatim.