(Washington, D.C.) – Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today criticized the Massachusetts Information Technology Division (ITD) for moving ahead with its OpenDocument mandate despite a new report that questions the legality of the policy.  The Senate Committee on Post Audit and Oversight released a report that said that ITD displayed a “deliberate disregard for public process” in deciding on the policy.  The Enterprise Information Technology Architecture mandates that state agencies use only open formats for the storage of documents by January 1, 2007.

“The principles of open standards may offer the benefits of decreased costs and interoperability of documents, but the ITD did not pursue the policy in an open, collaborative or lawful manner,” said state Sen. Marc Pacheco, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Post Audit and Oversight (CNET News, 7/8/2006). 

“The lack of a cost-benefit analysis casts further doubt on official assurances that the policy will not burden taxpayers,” CAGW President Tom Schatz said.  “The policy was developed behind closed doors, without the proper input of government agencies and concerned groups.  This type of closed, non-competitive, unaccountable process is a disservice to the taxpayers of Massachusetts. 

Proprietary software products such as Word Perfect, Lotus Notes and Microsoft Office, which are widely used and accepted in the marketplace.  Switching to OpenDocument will incur additional costs:  Converting more than one million current files to the a new format; teaching and training a new technical support staff to provide state workers with assistance on the new systems; and re-training the state’s workforce to use the new software.  Furthermore, businesses and citizens could face compatibility problems in exchanging documents with all of the state agencies.  This mandate could also limit choice and access to whatever proprietary technologies may emerge in the coming years.

“This policy will affect taxpayers, businesses, and regular citizens of Massachusetts,” Schatz continued. “At the very least, Gov. Romney and chief information officer Louis Gutierrez should delay or cancel implementation of a policy that bypassed the proper vetting procedures.” 

In July 2004 the Office of Management and Budget stated that the federal government should keep its options open and assess the total cost of ownership when determining the best software to use.  An objective look at the merits of software considers maintenance, functionality, performance, and security – factors not always considered in procurement decisions based solely on a licensing or development model. 

Citizens Against Government Waste is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.