GOP Lawmakers Plot Big Changes to Minnesota’s IT Agency

ST. PAUL (AP) -- Republicans who control the Legislature are charting major changes to how the state handles information technology.

Minnesota's Information Technology Services agency has been in the spotlight following the botched rollout of the new driver's registration system called MNLARS. It's the second major technological flop under Gov. Mark Dayton's administration, after MNsure's bungled launch in 2013.

Senate Republicans on Thursday proposed dismantling the technology agency called MN.IT. The agency was created in 2011 to centralize the state's technology services.

GOP Sen. Julie Rosen says the state has a bad track record in software development. House Republicans introduced a bill Thursday that would require the agency to seek out existing software before building its own.

Lawmakers have not yet authorized $10 million in funding the state says it needs to fix MNLARS.