It's hard to believe, but California, the largest state in the U.S., never had a CIO until now. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger created the post in August, establishing the Office of the State Chief Information Officer as a cabinet-level agency with statutory authority over technology policy. Teresa "Teri" Takai, former CIO of Michigan and the director of the Michigan Department of IT since 2003, was appointed Dec. 12. "Two years ago, I introduced my Strategic Growth Plan to rebuild and improve California's crumbling infrastructure. But, our state's infrastructure isn't limited to the physical roads, bridges and levees that need repair. We also have to expand and improve California's technology to meet our future needs," Schwarzenegger said in a statement.

A lot of people would say, "It's about time." What has the Golden state been doing without a CIO? Who knows? But Takai now has a very big task of harnessing the power and authority of the state to make sure technology works properly, and there is an IT roadmap to make sure there are no detours. AeA, an industry technology group which pushed the legislation for a statewide CIO, said it is an important step for the state.

"AeA actively pursued this piece of legislation because the high-tech industry believes an empowered State CIO will have the ability to make California less risk averse where buying technology is concerned," said Roxanne Gould, senior vice president of California Government and Public Affairs. "Given the sheer size of California, and its tradition of enacting path-breaking legislation, we are very excited to have been the impetus for this milestone accomplishment."

For more on California's first statewide CIO:
- Check out this eWeek Article