Fallin signs Rep. Pat Ownbey’s measure on criminal justice information

OKLAHOMA CITY – Legislation signed into law yesterday by the governor would improve information sharing between state criminal justice agencies.

House Bill 1083, by state Rep. Pat Ownbey, will create a shared infrastructure dubbed the “Criminal Justice Information Center for Excellence” under the supervision of the chief information officer in the Oklahoma Office of Management and Enterprise Services. The information technology infrastructure would be used by 14 agencies, including the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Public Safety, the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, the District Attorney’s Council, CLEET, the state attorney general, the ABLE Commission, the fire marshal and the Department of Corrections.

“Shared infrastructure reduces the costs to individual agencies and makes it possible for agencies to have access to programs they might otherwise be unable to afford,” said Ownbey, R-Ardmore. “This legislation should improve the efficiency of the criminal justice and public safety services of the state.”

The chief information officer and commissioner of public safety would oversee the implementation of the law, if enacted.

Ownbey said that multiple agencies currently collect duplicate information, a practice that could be reduced by the new shared infrastructure law.

“This legislation is part of the agenda to modernize state government,” Ownbey said. “There are just so many technologies now available that can improve services.”

The new law takes effect Nov. 1.