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Kansas Lawmakers To Study Problems With State Software System

Kansas lawmakers will be studying problems with a state software system. A committee will be meeting next month to start collecting information about the issues. As KPR’s Stephen Koranda reports, Kansas has spent $14 million on the program.

The system is behind the public website for the Kansas Legislature and connects all the various departments and staff in the Statehouse. It’s also used for drafting and distributing bills and amendments.

Senate President Susan Wagle says issues continue several years after the program was launched. She points to votes being delayed and holdups in the Senate Tax Committee last session as they waited for amendments to be drafted.

“Every time we waited it was over six hours, and it wasn’t because the revisors couldn’t get it done, they could get it done," Wagle says. "It was problems with the software."

John Harrington, CEO of the software company Propylon, which provided the system, says in a statement that Propylon successfully put the system in place in 2011 and since then it’s been in the hands of Statehouse IT staff. Harrington says his company has been providing support but they haven’t received reports of recent issues.

“I continue to work with the Legislature to understand whether their issues are software related, training related or process related," he says. "To date we have not been engaged to get the specifics but we are continuing to try to get the details from the Legislature."

 

Stephen Koranda is the managing editor of the Kansas News Service, based at KCUR. He has nearly 20 years of experience in public media as a reporter and editor.