Audit finds Montana isn’t following technology development law

The state isn’t following tough new laws for controlling the development of costly computer programs, laws put in place to avoid another multimillion dollar fiasco like the failed tax computer system.

The agency charged with managing information technology growth in state government is not doing its job, and isn’t actively enforcing the laws or policing spending decisions of other agencies, legislative auditors found in a report released Wednesday.

Lawmakers approved the Information Technology Act in 2001, as problems in a revenue computer system called POINTS become painfully obvious. The crippled computer system eventually cost the state roughly $55 million. It has since been abandoned.

The Legislature hoped the new law, which centralized computer expertise and established a chief information officer to oversee projects, would prevent other software development nightmares.

By MATT GOURAS
Associated Press Writer

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