[{"_1":2,"_112":-5,"_113":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88,100],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6147873,"mediaKeyId","5518748-264762ba479e99f8df252b873e9012b4","parentId",5518748,"title","State IT office outlines mainframe retirement, 1,800-application inventory and ServiceNow rollout","audioSeconds",855,"startMs",13523000,"endMs",14378000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5518748-264762ba479e99f8df252b873e9012b4&start=13523&end=14378","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5518748-264762ba479e99f8df252b873e9012b4/thumbnail_13523000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6147873/North-Dakota/State-IT-office-outlines-mainframe-retirement-1800-application-inventory-and-ServiceNow-rollout","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6147873-668dea11d9290988111fe1e9c0bcc9c5/orig.mp4?Expires=1770576834&Signature=UqXrZLfuxDT~5~Wj2Kw7Asl-g-dtAqLiZZN~s3YX76XjZFbSYMKFWhfMl3zGK1iVhEE5s-p7qu3URECJtJLpJVhYuMxOprkrcP~QmCyWkyVd8UKc-2Pnx2Igcun~kXODZx0SK8EVWMPQ8K8UZkSGE1ysPd4kf7gkQsKjrOX6fV7oeHNAHbmJcar9bd8GelELr9tDRIVnnY3aTn~hVDwNWMH8ffeK3y6fUptAYx1n~qEhqGyrA9NHWS0Nl215jxUqSXLyBKOHIYU2QfnPrBcNErWmpVvfIPxjYRvVlvB0bqmmAsbNK7mg2NwmowlG0AZsa4IljjqNSSZZam1zgSnKJQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","North Dakota Legislature","date","2025-07-30T00:00:00Z","article","The North Dakota Information Technology (NDIT) office briefed the Task Force on statewide IT structure, an inventory of applications and plans to modernize customer-facing and internal services, including a ServiceNow rollout and a multi-year plan to retire legacy systems.

Chief Information Officer Corey Mach described NDIT as the central IT service for most executive-branch agencies and explained why the agency must recoup costs through advance rate-setting that feeds into agency budgets. He told the Task Force that NDIT supports a large and diverse application portfolio and that planning, procurement timelines and vendor processes often lengthen project delivery times.

Mach said NDIT’s current inventory identifies about 1,800 applications on the state network. He noted that many agencies operate separate systems for grants, case management and project tracking — an arrangement that reduces volume discounts and increases operational complexity. \"Across all of the agencies in the state of North Dakota, we currently have 14 unique grant management solutions, 12 project management solutions, 6 event management solutions, more than 10 different case management systems,\" Mach said, arguing for consolidation where appropriate to reduce duplicative support burdens.

Mach described the mainframe as a persistent legacy challenge. Several agencies have already migrated off the mainframe; Department of Transportation (DOT) is expected to complete its migration by the end of the current biennium. He said DHHS remains a major holdout and that NDIT aims to have DHHS’s final mainframe-dependent applications migrated by the 2027–29 biennium so the agency can retire the mainframe entirely.

To improve constituent services and internal workflows, NDIT recommended expanding ServiceNow-based solutions to offer a single sign‑on, service catalog and an Employee Center that automates onboarding and offboarding tasks. Mach described expected operational gains from automation — faster incident resolution, fewer manual steps and lower error rates — and said the employee portal and automated provisioning would reduce the administrative burden of license and access management.

Mach also explained rate-setting mechanics: because NDIT’s operating budget is recovered through bill-back rates, the agency must estimate service costs well before legislative budget cycles end. To reduce future rate volatility, NDIT is evaluating options to pull enterprise overhead and licensing out of per-service rates and fund those central costs separately. The agency plans to present alternative rate models and a draft statewide IT plan to the Task Force and to the legislative IT committee as part of the next biennial budget cycle.

NDIT staff asked the Task Force to support earlier engagement in agency procurements and to authorize more consistent, enterprise-level solutions to reduce duplicative procurements and improve security and continuity.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Legislative Task Force on Government Efficiency Jul 30, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","The State Chief Information Officer briefed the Task Force on a statewide IT inventory (about 1,800 applications), the challenge of legacy platforms including the mainframe, the case for ServiceNow-based citizen and employee portals, and options to separate operational overhead from bill-back rates.","taxTitle","Legislative, North Dakota","taxId",28306,"location","North Dakota","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6147880,"Commerce tells Task Force it will streamline workforce programs, grant reporting and marketing procurement",316,11339000,11655000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5518748-264762ba479e99f8df252b873e9012b4&start=11339&end=11655","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5518748-264762ba479e99f8df252b873e9012b4/thumbnail_11339000.jpg","/articles/6147880/North-Dakota/Commerce-tells-Task-Force-it-will-streamline-workforce-programs-grant-reporting-and-marketing-procurement","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6147880-5fbabb93597f6db195dadd88ec3c0be0/orig.mp4?Expires=1770576834&Signature=ZigU5OH-DbcT-gSuYJfkevYoN5HjBu~~Ba9TMWYy48m7FSYpAvUfiiY6-XPTFLgoeGdNw5yISYV7SDP630AyJFgsImgSihfd42gvISkeK9wZUM63o83QYjVWSFMlgcHSV8IK8Zln8uXtcQ5QETipKC1cDh-cL4FV5F8ub3PnvQPUdC4Gw4alcmOekRYAwwYQ1TxQLWSgWmIHv74pqRZ-UbtZsktfX5OsfuKye6XVkd~egHDj3oCCezgn0g5UFZa46AOLpLm8gSGvc6U9egOhfrTm1OiwKgDHYvfKPmBKgyM0LdQmNDAQTlWCS3nemSM7PUEfVoDQfga~15B5-I~glQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The North Dakota Department of Commerce told the Task Force it has identified opportunities to streamline workforce programs, consolidate grant processes and make state marketing and site-selection work more nimble.

Commerce Commissioner Chris Shilkin said the department has completed strategic planning and stakeholder outreach and is focused on aligning programs with Governor’s priorities to maximize return on investment. \"We believe there's a way to streamline the process in commerce that adds efficiency, velocity, and transparency,\" Shilkin said, and asked for legislative trust to reduce one‑off amendments that divert staff resources.

Commerce presented a preliminary inventory showing more than 80 workforce programs spread across at least nine agencies and more than 100 incentive programs across state and federal agencies. The agency said that complexity creates duplication and that a consolidated approach would allow better success metrics, clearer outcomes and less administrative burden on local partners.

Shilkin outlined steps Commerce is taking to centralize tools and cut duplication: a public-facing grants transparency page that lists state and federal grant opportunities, timelines and program descriptions; a statewide Location Information System (LOIS) to market sites and assets to national site selectors so communities need not subscribe individually; and an enterprise agreement to make the mapping/listing platform available at no cost to local economic-development organizations and partners.

On grants and reporting, Commerce said it will work to standardize timelines and reporting expectations and to build grant portals that reduce applicants’ time and error rates. Commissioner Shilkin and Task Force members agreed that future grant awards should include clearer reporting requirements so the legislature and the public can assess success. Representative Bosch asked Commerce to provide a comprehensive list of workforce and incentive programs with dollar figures; the commissioner said the executive branch subcabinet is working to assemble that inventory and will provide it to the Task Force.

Commerce also recommended simplifying procurement for marketing media buys and promotions so the department can respond quickly to time-sensitive leads and promotional windows. The agency is piloting project-management and RFP-tracking tools to improve cross-agency coordination on site-readiness and federal grants while exploring increased use of data analytics and AI tools to inform investment decisions.

Commerce asked the Task Force to consider consolidating legislative reporting requirements into a single comprehensive report to reduce staff time spent producing multiple overlapping interim reports.","The Department of Commerce proposed consolidating workforce programs and refining grant and marketing procurement processes to boost efficiency and transparency. The agency highlighted a statewide workforce ecosystem comprising more than 80 programs across multiple agencies and proposed single-source site-marketing and grant-tracking tools.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6147882,"Health and Human Services tells task force it will pursue transparency, performance dashboards and provider oversight",2243,1937000,4180000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5518748-264762ba479e99f8df252b873e9012b4&start=1937&end=4180","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5518748-264762ba479e99f8df252b873e9012b4/thumbnail_1937000.jpg","/articles/6147882/North-Dakota/Health-and-Human-Services-tells-task-force-it-will-pursue-transparency-performance-dashboards-and-provider-oversight","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6147882-105defbf051adb1deeeb9e9b6d626da0/orig.mp4?Expires=1770576834&Signature=DvJsz2iXvObufeKwUYcW3xsJuhbnKgZbG6ECgYiNokkiMsUeBdNjQ~CgzsaogpdrFBdI1A4aoocK5kWXSQzq6~LMioAXWsc0Rjjwb7snPFDShjcjWdn2oo37DGO3aWrwvF9AeyFDxkCIorJgusNjYL7~CY5NJteAHMaK1mVExSL9LJHI-uqaEY9RQuHMup9FuA8Jk~N9EIMf6lOe04wrQK7Q-fDEpVSC12xRyCvXXlZBDMQFsZk263nOG3BG5Tr-FrQ2deP6OBNyluAJxOpTXc5B4m3jJ23ChbHjll-ca5siWqLfGLTrrjXNPyaPr2YMKUgQ35YwPX4oKw6HsPPQ9Q__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) presented a macro overview of its programs, budget and proposed efficiency priorities to the Task Force, emphasizing workforce performance, transparency and outcome-based contracting.

DHHS officials told the Task Force the department oversees major entitlement programs including Medicaid and economic assistance, licensing and public-health functions, behavioral health and services for older adults and people with disabilities. DHHS said its current budget totals about $5.8 billion and that the majority of that funding is paid to outside providers.

Pat Traynor, Commissioner of the Department of Health and Human Services, described the agency’s goals and approach: \"We really have the opportunity in a small state under 800,000 or so of a population to look at state government from a macro perspective and say, how can we be the best in terms of efficiency and effectiveness?\" Traynor asked the Task Force to consider both the delivery model and long-term prevention strategies that could bend the cost curve.

Deputy CFO Donna Ocland told members DHHS has a complex funding picture and that “we are the largest state budget. We have $5,800,000,000 in our budget,” and that about 82% of those dollars — roughly $4.7 billion — are paid out to providers and vendors rather than to department payroll. Ocland said DHHS recorded roughly 3,100 contracts across programs during the 2023–25 biennium, with about 1,200 amendments, and that the total contract value exceeded $1 billion. She said roughly 1,100 individual vendors provide services to the department.

Officials told the Task Force they are working to improve contract consistency, reporting and procurement turnaround time. \"That contract value for those 3,100 contracts that we had was over a billion dollars,\" Ocland said, adding the department is standardizing contract language and moving toward an enterprise contract system to reduce duplicative requirements and clarify deliverables.

Behavioral Health director Pam Segnus presented a program example DHHS uses to measure outcomes: Free Through Recovery, a program launched during a prior justice-reinvestment effort to connect people leaving incarceration or on community supervision with peer supports, care coordination and recovery services. Segnus said the program is outcome-driven, not fee-for-service, and reimburses providers based on participant progress. \"The program is funded based on outcomes,\" Segnus said. She reported that, from March 2018 through September 2024, 69% of participants met three of four outcome measures tracked for the program. Segnus said the program served an unduplicated total of 7,883 individuals since inception, currently serves a monthly census of roughly 1,500 participants, and the Legislature expanded the budget to target a monthly average of about 2,000 participants.

Sarah Acre, Executive Director of Medical Services, highlighted a DHHS pharmacy-management example she described as a long-run cost-control success: the department’s pharmacy program grew more slowly than the cost of pharmacy reimbursements would suggest and, in Acre’s words, \"we are spending less today than we were in 2006\" when rebates, supplemental rebate agreements and earlier management steps are included. Acre also noted Medicaid per-capita cost differences across eligibility groups and urged the Task Force to consider how state policy choices — reimbursement rates, service mix and access — drive per-capita spending.

DHHS staff told the Task Force they plan to make performance dashboards more user-friendly for legislators and the public, create clearer contract deliverables and reporting standards, and improve procurement and IT systems used to manage grants and payments. They asked the Task Force for guidance on which divisions or programs to review first and volunteered to bring specific follow-up datasets and proposed KPIs for the committee’s review.","DHHS presented a broad overview of its programs, funding flows and initiatives to improve performance reporting, contract management and workforce effectiveness. Officials highlighted a $5.8 billion budget, that roughly 82% of funds go to providers, and pilot outcome-based programs such as Free Through Recovery.",{"_33":101,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":102,"_41":103,"_43":104,"_45":105,"_47":106,"_49":107,"_51":108,"_53":109,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":110,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":111,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6147886,"Legislative task force opens, lays out duties, rules and scope for efficiency review",457,457000,914000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5518748-264762ba479e99f8df252b873e9012b4&start=457&end=914","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5518748-264762ba479e99f8df252b873e9012b4/thumbnail_457000.jpg","/articles/6147886/North-Dakota/Legislative-task-force-opens-lays-out-duties-rules-and-scope-for-efficiency-review","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6147886-4d8db9f68fb9bdb90e98668e3a8ce6c3/orig.mp4?Expires=1770576834&Signature=hMRA0nUe4JeiwjjUDPaxG4GKVqoKXGkPxB-LdjJ4YL3~6v03uqyzJY~44bx3sARxpCeJmNRJN0qdcS9Jk7cfCf6YeGeL1mEyOmoPL8cofb9i2ReF9OB5vDQ0dE1-1~wCt8b6bAcdAuKQVzlHlwleu3~wLu9idaffSgnaT7cmO3Mhqb7-853Jv8UkiV6htWZUDApWq1LXshLQmAIe8GpJC-MdIsTPQWYrI31NVca-dxWiJi6D2WCW3l-RnUs1e3-~YmcfpsBgruTVDFrhyzLppfsJYaD4wssq~xVYONybFb1TfzNkBBIlMEMsdDuGx6a0IXmhtiJjBqZWVR6mFV9zug__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Legislative Government Efficiency Task Force convened its inaugural meeting to review its statutory duties, internal rules and early priorities, including quarterly agency reviews, program evaluation and submitting a final interim report to Legislative Management.

The Task Force was created by legislation and is charged with meeting at least once each quarter, reviewing and analyzing Executive Branch and Supreme Court budgets and reports, receiving agency testimony, identifying duplicative programs and regulations, and recommending program and statutory changes to improve efficiency and outcomes for the next Legislative Assembly.

Levi Kanishitzky, fiscal staff at Legislative Council, summarized the committee's procedural framework and gave members an overview of the rules that will govern the Task Force’s work. \"Just as a quick housekeeping item, at the first meeting of every legislative management committee meeting, the staff will go over what we call the supplementary rules of operation procedure of North Dakota legislative management,\" Kanishitzky said, and noted two rules in particular: members must get prior approval from the chair to attend remotely and any member attending remotely must keep their video on, and members present must vote for or against on every recorded roll call vote.

Kanishitzky also explained how bill drafts introduced to Legislative Management are to be reviewed: \"If a bill draft is prepared by an individual that is outside of Legislative Council ... that bill draft or an amendment to that bill draft needs to be reviewed at least two meetings ... But if the bill draft is requested by this task force and someone from our office drafts it, that could all be done in one meeting.\" The Task Force staff will produce a final interim report for Legislative Management at the end of the interim.

Members used the opening session to set expectations for the Task Force’s approach. Senator Hogan urged the group to pursue rebuilding public trust and to make performance information more accessible: \"If we can demonstrate where we're effective in what we're doing, I think ... we can restore the trust of the citizens of North Dakota in government.\" Representative Weiss and other members added that the Task Force should balance short-term cost savings with improving service delivery and outcomes, \"getting more bang for our buck,\" and should hold agencies accountable for transparent outcome measures.

Committee members suggested candidate early topics for review, including the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), the North Dakota Information Technology (NDIT) portfolio, education and local government structures, and agency organizational arrangements. Members discussed using the Task Force’s authority to request program evaluations from the State Auditor or independent auditors when appropriate, and recommended an iterative, evidence-driven agenda based on available data and targeted follow-ups.

The Task Force also received a staff memorandum describing its statutory formation and related assignments, including that Senate Bill 2308 assigned a separate Board Review Task Force and that the new Task Force will receive that group's report when it is delivered to Legislative Management. Staff said members may request additional agency materials between meetings and that Legislative Council will be the staff point of contact during the interim.

The meeting closed with members asking staff to prepare a short list of potential first-decade priorities and to circulate the Legislative Management operating rules and required report deadlines in advance of the next meeting.","The newly formed Legislative Government Efficiency Task Force met for its inaugural session to establish scope, reporting rules and staff support. Members emphasized transparency, outcomes and a focus on program evaluation and statutory changes to improve government efficiency.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

State IT office outlines mainframe retirement, 1,800-application inventory and ServiceNow rollout

Commerce tells Task Force it will streamline workforce programs, grant reporting and marketing procurement

Health and Human Services tells task force it will pursue transparency, performance dashboards and provider oversight

Legislative task force opens, lays out duties, rules and scope for efficiency review