The Executive proposes the creation of the Office of Public Security (OPS), which would be responsible for the development and implementation of a statewide counter-terrorism strategy. Originally established by Executive Order following the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center, OPS is charged with creating coordinated strategies to prevent and counter future incidents of domestic terrorism. The Office will operate a Counter-Terrorism Network to provide terrorism and security-related alerts to State and local law enforcement agencies. The Office will continually assess the vulnerability of the State's data and communications systems.

This agency is included in the Public Protection and General Government budget bill.

State Operations

The Executive proposes an $11,916,000 All Funds State Operations appropriation for State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2003-04. These funds would be used to support 20 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) employees being transferred from the Executive Chamber, as well as 38 new FTE positions. Thirty-seven FTE employees from the Office for Technology (OFT) would transfer to the Office of Public Security to aid in the Cyber Security and Critical Infrastructure Coordination (CSCIC) Program.

The proposed Cyber Security and Critical Infrastructure Coordination Program (CSCIC) would assess the security and disaster-readiness of the State's data and communication systems. CSCIC is also charged with the tasks of eliminating redundancies between the private sector and State/Federal government initiatives in relation to secure communication networks. CSCIC would also take on the responsibility of collecting geographic data for various State agencies including the Department of Transportation.