CIO panel changes chairs

The vice chairman of the federal CIO Council, James Flyzik, plans to give up that post and serve instead as one of three co-chairmen of the council's E-Government Committee, according to council sources.

Flyzik, who is chief information officer at the Treasury Department, has been vice chairman of the CIO Council since 1998. His term as vice chairman expired last fall, but he is expected to maintain his post until President Bush names a new chairman—the person who will be deputy director for management at the Office of Management and Budget.

Craig Luigart, chief information officer at the Education Department, is another co-chairman, and Andrea Norris, deputy CIO for management at NASA, is co-chairwoman.

Until Flyzik is replaced as CIO Council vice chairman, Mayi Canales is slated to serve as a co-chairwoman of the E-Government Committee. Canales is chief operating officer and chief of business practices in the Treasury Department's CIO office.

Under its new leadership, the E-Government Committee plans to focus on improving citizens' access to government, CIO Council sources said.

Key projects in that arena are expected to include: Work to develop public-key infrastructure, including pilot projects that permit secure online transactions with federal agencies. Support for "government without boundaries," which includes improving access to federal, state and local government agencies through FirstGov, the federal government portal. Security, privacy and critical infrastructure protection. Finding better ways to fund CIO Council projects. The council does not have a budget of its own, but relies on contributions from participating agencies to fund e-government development.