Government Technology - March 2008 - (Page 20)

ARNOLDSCHWARZENEGGER GOVERNOR, CALIFORNIA T O P 25 D O E R S D R E A M E R S A N D D R I V E R S California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger staged a political comeback in 2007, pushing the nation’s most aggressive green agenda. Among other things, he signed legislation forcing public utilities to produce 25 percent of their energy from renewable sources by 2020, currently the strictest standard in the U.S. This will roll California’s greenhouse gas emissions back to 1990 standards. Since taking office in 2003, Schwarzenegger’s broad green vision translated to new enthusiasm for green technology in California government, said Rosario Marin, secretary of the State and Consumer Services Agency. “Now we see everything from hydrogen highways to solar panels that, before four years ago, not many people had,” she said. Schwarzenegger installed solar photovoltaic facilities at eight state sites, cumulatively producing 4.2 MW of electricity. During 2008, the state plans to produce cumulatively up to 24 MW of electricity at additional facilities. Bucking Republican solidarity, Schwarzenegger locked horns with the Bush administration after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) quashed his attempts to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles. suing the EPA for denying a waiver needed to set stricter standards than those mandated by the federal Clean Air Act. Schwarzenegger also implemented an incentive to have solar panels installed on 1 million roofs in the state. Homeowners and businesses using participating energy providers can install solar panels and sell the excess energy they produce back to those providers. Since taking office in 2003, Schwarzenegger’s broad green vision translated to new enthusiasm for green technology in California government. “EPA’s denial of our waiver request to enact the nation’s cleanest standards for vehicle emissions is legally indefensible and another example of the failure to treat climate change with the seriousness it demands,” Schwarzenegger said in a statement. California is now Marin jokes that she was the originator of a popular nickname now associated with Schwarzenegger. “I was the first person to call him the ‘Green Giant,’” she said. “Other people have used it, but I was the first one.” ANDY OPSAHL, FEATURES EDITOR S E C R E TA R Y O F T E C H N O L O G Y, V I R G I N I A ANEESHCHOPRA Aneesh Chopra has a unique job. As Virginia’s secretary of technology, he focuses on operational policy for government and promoting economic development relative to the tech industry. While the state has a CIO — Lem Stewart, who was named to Government Technology’s Top 25 in 2006 — Chopra functions more as an adviser to Gov. Tim Kaine. The position gives Chopra an interesting view of both government and new tech business. “It comes together a lot more than you may think,” Chopra said. “Often there are innovative companies that are entrepreneurial by definition, whose products and services trigger in my mind ideas that can make government more efficient.” The state’s IT efforts have resulted in several awards in recent years. But Chopra says he’s most proud of two public-private partnerships that benefit the state’s citizens. The first is a partnership with Google. Virginia is one of the first states to work with the company on its sitemap protocol. This dramatically expanded people’s access to state government information, increased traffic to the state’s Web site by 22 percent since the partnership began, and made information on the site much easier to find. connect the dots with the right folks, and off you can move.” Both the sitemap protocol and GED projects have been especially gratifying, Chopra said, adding that he gives much credit to the people he works with, including the state’s CIO. He said other key factors are the “Often there are innovative companies that are entrepreneurial by definition, whose products and services trigger in my mind ideas that can make government more efficient.” Virginia also partnered with two cable TV companies — Cox Communications and Comcast Corp. — to bring free, televised general equivalency diploma (GED) classes to Virginians, at no cost to the state or taxpayers. Chopra says the pilot, which took only four months from idea to go-live, was the result of people exploiting a good opportunity. “It’s exciting, because you raise an idea, you governor’s commitment to technology, and Virginia’s willingness to try new ideas. Chopra also co-chairs the state’s Healthcare IT Council. He and his colleagues are working on a new model for value-based health care that would change the way technology and health care intersect. It’s all in a day’s work for a guy with a unique job. JIM MEYERS, STAFF WRITER MAR_08 20 http://www.govtech.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Government Technology - March 2008

Government Technology - March 2008 Contents Point of View Big Picture The Last Mile On the Scene Four Questions for... Top 25 Doers, Dreamers and Drivers Let's [Not] Get Physical No Data Left Behind Conservation King Community Drug Test Reinventing the System Better Late Than Never Closing the Deal Spectrum Products Personal Computing signal:noise Digital Communities The Expanding Focus of Digital Communities The Digital Imperative Hot Fusion Redefining Municipal Wireless Made in the USA Bridge Detectives The 2008 Agenda

Government Technology - March 2008

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