OLYMPIA – Today, Gov. Inslee will sign Rep. David Hackney’s (D-Tukwila) sponsored legislation, HB 1274, giving Washington state agencies the option to transition their data systems to a third-party, commercial cloud computing service.
Should state agencies take advantage of this new option, the state would save nearly $100 million in five years and improve the security, performance, and reliability of their technology services. Given the opportunity to transition to the Cloud, state agencies will be able to scale services to meet constituent needs more effectively.
“The pandemic strained Washington’s government resources at the time they were most needed,” Hackney said. “COVID-19 focused a spotlight on the cracks in our State’s critical IT infrastructure and the limitations of legacy servers to rapidly scale to meet increased consumer demand and respond to civil emergencies in an efficient and cost-effective manner.”
HB 1274 gives state agencies more flexibility to choose how to store their data and creates a task force to review the impact of transitioning to the Cloud on our workforce to make recommendations for a just, long-term transition towards necessary third-party commercial cloud services.
Along with enhanced security and efficiency, Rep. Hackney says third-party cloud computing services can handle high volumes of service to help our state agencies better serve Washingtonians.
“I am excited about the opportunity this law creates to improve remote services for state agencies that choose the commercial cloud,” said Hackney.
On Feb. 25, the House passed HB 1274 with overwhelming bipartisan support, 96 to 2, and the Senate with similar results, 48 to 1 on Mar. 29, making it Rep. Hackney’s first bill passed out of both chambers.
The signing of the bill will take place at 3 p.m. on TVW.