(Washington, D.C.) - Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today called on California state legislators to refuse to reauthorize funding for the state's Department of Information Technology (DOIT), created in 1995 to address state technology issues and the Y2K computer bug. 

"Having a DOIT today is like having a California Department of Shoes," CAGW President Schatz said.  "It is completely unnecessary, corrupting, inefficient, and a waste of taxpayer dollars.  The DOIT inserts politicians and bureaucrats into a free and functioning marketplace, which experience shows us time and again will harm consumers and the economy.  The DOIT turns technology executives from entrepreneurs into lobbyists and political patrons.  Given California's multi-billion dollar budget deficit and the new security requirements post-Sept. 11, there is no excuse not to eliminate this program."

"Additionally, while the DOIT was a poor idea from the start, we now know it has violated its own guidelines in doling out software contracts," Schatz added.  "It is under fire for giving Oracle a $126 million contract without the required competitive bidding process.  The agency also did not verify the contract's cost-savings estimates, and relied heavily for advice in the matter on a consultant with a conflict of interest.  Last year, an auditor criticized the DOIT for mismanagement, and last week the state's Legislative Analyst's Office concluded the department had had only 'limited success.'  While these reviews were undertaken, where was the oversight from Attorney General Bill Lockyer, who serves as legal counsel to state agencies, boards and commissions?  For someone who is supposed to be in charge of California's financial resources, it appears he was asleep at the wheel."

"The DOIT and its political progenitor, San Jose Assemblyman Manny Diaz, have shown little willingness to reform the staggered agency," Schatz continued.  "Rather than propose constructive management changes, they are instead simply pushing to extend the program another 3 1/2 years, 18 months beyond the standard authorization period.  That's chutzpah."

"Further, DOIT's director, Elias Cortez, has undertaken a cynical effort to cajole companies that do business with California to lobby legislators on the department's behalf.  This tactic backfired when the reauthorization bill's co-author, Santa Clara Assemblywoman Elaine Alquist, announced in disgust that she would remove her name from the legislation."

"The California legislature is right to be leaning against re-authorization of this unnecessary and wasteful agency," Schatz concluded.  "Free markets work, especially in fast-paced industries like technology, and the DOIT endangers California's golden goose.  DOIT is on the ropes; it's time for the knockout punch."
Citizens Against Government Waste is the nation's largest nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.