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2004 SESSION


CHAPTER 638
An Act to amend and reenact §§ 2.2-603 and 2.2-2009 of the Code of Virginia, relating to the security of state government databases and data communications.
[H 1330]
Approved April 12, 2004

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That §§ 2.2-603 and 2.2-2009 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows:

§ 2.2-603. Authority of agency directors.

A. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the agency director of each agency in the executive branch of state government shall have the power and duty to (i) supervise and manage the department or agency and (ii) prepare, approve, and submit to the Governor all requests for appropriations and to be responsible for all expenditures pursuant to appropriations.

B. The director of each agency in the executive branch of state government, except those that by law are appointed by their respective boards, shall not proscribe any agency employee from discussing the functions and policies of the agency, without prior approval from his supervisor or superior, with any person unless the information to be discussed is protected from disclosure by the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (§ 2.2-3700 et seq.) or any other provision of state or federal law.

C. Subsection A shall not be construed to restrict any other specific or general powers and duties of executive branch boards granted by law.

D. This section shall not apply to those agency directors that are appointed by their respective boards or by the Board of Education. Directors appointed in this manner shall have the powers and duties assigned by law or by the board.

E. In addition to the requirements of subsection C of § 2.2-619, the director of each agency in any branch of state government shall, at the end of each fiscal year, report to (i) the Secretary of Finance and the Chairmen of the House Committee on Appropriations and the Senate Committee on Finance a listing and general description of any federal contract, grant, or money in excess of $1,000,000 for which the agency was eligible, whether or not the agency applied for, accepted, and received such contract, grant, or money, and, if not, the reasons therefore, and a listing and cost of any federal mandate or regulation affecting the agency, and the dollar amount and corresponding percentage of the agency's total annual budget that was supplied by funds from the federal government and (ii) the Chairmen of the House Committees on Appropriations and Finance, and the Senate Committee on Finance any amounts owed to the agency from any source that are more than six months delinquent, the length of such delinquencies, and the total of all such delinquent amounts in each six-month interval. Clause (i) shall not be required of public institutions of higher education.

F. On or before December 1, 1999, the director of every department in the executive branch of state government shall appoint an agency information officer from among the department's employees to (i) ensure the coordinated planning, practical acquisition, effective development, and efficient use of information technology resources and communications services to meet the department's needs and (ii) serve as the department's liaison to the Secretary of Technology.

G. The director of every department in the executive branch of state government shall report to the Chief Information Officer as described in § 2.2-2005, all known incidents that threaten the security of the Commonwealth's databases and data communications resulting in exposure of data protected by federal or state laws, or other incidents compromising the security of the Commonwealth’s information technology systems with the potential to cause major disruption to normal agency activities. Such reports shall be made to the Chief Information Officer within 24 hours from when the department discovered or should have discovered their occurrence.

§ 2.2-2009. Additional duties of the CIO relating to security of government database.

A. To ensure the security of state government databases and data communications from unauthorized uses, intrusions or other security threats, the CIO shall direct the development of policies, procedures and standards for assessing security risks, determining the appropriate security measures and performing security audits of government databases and data communications. At a minimum, these policies, procedures and standards shall address the scope of security audits and which public bodies are authorized to conduct security audits. In developing and updating such policies, procedures and standards, the CIO shall consider, at a minimum, the advice and recommendations of the Council on Technology Services created pursuant to § 2.2-2651.

B. The CIO shall designate a government entity to oversee, plan and coordinate the conduct of periodic security audits of all executive branch agencies and institutions of higher education regarding the protection of government databases and data communications.

1. Security audits may include, but are not limited to, on-site audits as well as reviews of all written security procedures.

2. The designated entity may contract with a private firm or firms that specialize in conducting such audits subject to approval of the CIO.

C. All public bodies subject to such audits as required by this section shall fully cooperate with the entity designated to perform such audits.

D. The provisions of this section shall not infringe upon responsibilities assigned to the Comptroller, the Auditor of Public Accounts, or the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission by other provisions of the Code of Virginia.

E. The CIO shall promptly receive reports from directors of departments in the executive branch of state government made in accordance with § 2.2-603 and shall take such actions as are necessary, convenient or desirable to ensure the security of the Commonwealth's databases and data communications.

2. That the provisions of this act shall become effective on January 1, 2005.