Objectives

To determine whether the Department of State (Department) is complying with Executive Order 95 (EO 95), including providing, in a timely manner, publishable State data to the Office of Information Technology Services (ITS) under EO 95, and whether data posted under EO 95 is reliable and easily usable. The audit covered the period between February 1, 2013 and October 16, 2019.

About the Program

State government entities possess large amounts of valuable information on subjects such as health, business, public safety, parks and recreation, labor, and transportation. EO 95, issued March 11, 2013, established an Open Data Website (Open Data) for the collection and public dissemination of publishable State data maintained by covered State entities (generally, those headed by individuals appointed by the Executive). Open Data should provide ongoing “one-stop” access to publishable State data and make such data freely available in accessible formats for public use. As of December 2019, there were over 4,600 data items on Open Data.

The Department serves as the official compiler of State agency rules and regulations and provides a variety of services related to areas such as licensing, uniform commercial code, and consumer protection. As of December 6, 2019, the Department had published 18 data items on Open Data.

Key Findings

The Department has generally complied with the requirements of EO 95, incorporating compliance with EO 95 into its core business functions. The Department also continues to identify new data sets to add to Open Data. However, the Department did not identify the total population of publishable State data that it maintains. Therefore, there is limited assurance the Department provided a complete catalogue or accompanying schedules for making the data public, as required. Additionally, we found some problems with the usability of some of the Department’s data sets on Open Data.

Key Recommendations

• As soon as practicable, submit to ITS and make publicly available a complete catalogue and schedule of publishable State data for addition to Open Data.
• Work with ITS to enhance the quality and utility of publishable State data by improving Department data accessibility, as well as consistency, where permitted under applicable law.