A sweeping proposal to centralize information-technology governance, procurement and testing across state agencies — creating the Agency for State Systems and Enterprise Technology (ASSET) — was reported favorably by the Senate Appropriations Committee after extended debate and several technical amendments.

Senator Harrell, the bill’s presenter, described a decades-long effort to create enterprise IT standards and said the bill seeks to end agency-by-agency, siloed IT purchasing. "We are going to have one system enterprise wide that is going to be interoperable," Harrell said, describing ASSET as a cabinet-level agency responsible for standards, architecture, procurement policy and oversight.

Key provisions described in the hearing include: a phased transition (presenters indicated full enterprise transition could take until 2028); dissolution of the current state digital service (presenter referred to that body and set a June 2026 transition date); requirements that all agencies comply with enterprise architecture and procurement standards; creation of dedicated consultant teams assigned by policy domain (security, data, business analysis, quality assurance, project and contract management, procurement); establishment of an IT testing laboratory to vet vendor systems prior to purchase; creation of an enterprise Chief Technology Procurement Officer; annual IT expenditure reporting to Appropriations; and workforce development programs including internships and training to build state IT capacity.

The presenter said the bill also calls for independent verification and validation (IV&V) for significant procurements and singled out "technical debt" in legacy systems as a high priority for the state’s IT modernization. During questions, Harrell said agencies retain ultimate procurement authority but must follow standards and report to ASSET; accountability on poor procurement decisions ultimately lies with the Legislature through budgetary control.

Lawmakers asked about exclusions and limits. The bill, as presented, does not include the judicial branch; Harrell said the courts would remain separate unless they asked the Legislature to be brought under ASSET. Multiple senators pressed for clarity on how existing contracts will be handled; Harrell said existing contracts would remain in force through transition and the bill sets up a phased approach.

The committee considered and adopted multiple technical amendments that, among other changes, (1) require a state-level process when a sitting agency CIO on the selection committee applies to be the enterprise CIO (amendment barcode 464614); (2) remove the Northwest Regional Data Center from the definition of "state agency" (drafting correction, amendment barcode 208734); (3) require ASSET to establish a streamlined deviation-notification process to report departures from adopted standards with clear timelines (amendment barcode 784910); and (4) add workforce positions and move and clarify statute references for the Northwest Regional Data Center while leaving the center housed at Florida State University (amendment barcode 867736). The sponsor said many of the consultant and lead-technical roles in the organization are intended as state positions rather than outside contractors.

A private-sector representative, Danny Jordan, identified himself as a former state CIO and testified in support of the bill, saying a properly funded and staffed enterprise approach would fix repeated procurement weaknesses and transform the state’s IT posture.

After debate and amendment, the committee voted to report SPB 7026 favorably as a committee bill. Committee discussion emphasized that implementation will be gradual and require additional appropriation and staffing requests in future budget cycles.