What we're up to

PAST SUCCESSES

Legislative Information System (LIS)

DLAS is directed in the Code of Virginia to provide an electronic legislative information system for all state agencies, political subdivisions, and the public, as well as the General Assembly and its agencies. The Legislative Information System (LIS) is a free internet service that provides public information on the work of committees and the General Assembly members during the legislative session.

Lobbyist-in-a-Box (LIAB)

Active participants in Virginia's legislative process need to track multiple bills, across a variety of subjects, and be notified of any status changes or procedural actions. Lobbyist-in-a-Box (LIAB) gives the user tools to identify and categorize bills and resolutions of interest and create reports. LIAB is integrated into the DLAS' Legislative Information System so the user can be confident that they are getting the most up-to-date and accurate information about the General Assembly session.

CURRENT CHALLENGES

Disaster Recovery and Cloud Computing

DLAS is coordinating an effort to consolidate the data center resources of the General Assembly. The Senate of Virginia, House of Delegates, and the agencies supported by DLAS have joined together to combine the physical server needs of the General Assembly using server virtualization software and a shared data storage pool. Excess equipment will be re-deployed as backup systems at a remote hot site facility. The ability to communicate with each other no matter the level of the disaster is the key to a successful disaster recovery scenario.

Budget Amendment System

The Budget Amendment System is the House Appropriations and Senate Finance committee staff primary tool to craft amendments to Virginia's biennial Budget Bill. The current system was developed in 1995 using Lotus Notes as both the backend database and data entry user interface. During each stage of the budget amendment process, amendments are prepared for internet presentation and inclusion into the printed House and Senate Journal.

FUTURE PLANNING

Web-enable Business and Office Applications

The ability to work anywhere, anytime is good for both the organization and the employee. Organizations can consolidate workspace, spend less on supplies, have fewer phone lines, etc. Employees don't have to fight traffic or put in the late nights at the office. Telework initiatives seek to achieve these goals by putting fewer people on the road (less pollution and traffic) and leveraging their investment in technology. If people are prepared to work away from the office, they are prepared to continue to work in a disaster. If you can't get to work, then work can literally come to you. By web-enabling applications, DLAS can help the Commonwealth to realize significant savings while improving worker productivity.

Explore Desktop Virtualization

During the legislative session, people from all over the Commonwealth converge on Capitol Square demanding access to information technology services whether it be connection to the internet or a specialized information system. Desktop vitualization can provide control and consistency by pushing out standardized access methodologies and user interfaces. Because of its minimal hardware and software requirements, desktop virtualization is less expensive and if the configuration malfunctions, you can reload and begin again in minutes. Maintenance and support can be done remotely thereby eliminating the need to "touch" each machine to properly configure its features.

PROJECTS