There is an Information Technology Investment Fund. The purpose of the Fund is to support major information technology development projects and expedited projects. The Secretary: shall administer the Fund in accordance with this section; and subject to the provisions of § 2–201 of this article and § 3.5–307 of this subtitle, may receive and accept contributions, grants, or gifts of money or property. The Fund is a special, nonlapsing fund that is not subject to § 7–302 of this article. The State Treasurer shall hold the Fund separately and the Comptroller shall account for the Fund. The State Treasurer shall invest and reinvest the money of the Fund in the same manner as other State money may be invested. Any investment earnings of the Fund shall be paid into the Fund. Except as provided in subsection (f) of this section, the Fund consists of: money appropriated in the State budget to the Fund; as approved by the Secretary, money received from: the sale, lease, or exchange of communication sites, communication facilities, or communication frequencies for information technology purposes; or an information technology agreement involving resource sharing; that portion of money earned from pay phone commissions to the extent that the commission rates exceed those in effect in December 1993; money received and accepted as contributions, grants, or gifts as authorized under subsection (c) of this section; general funds appropriated for major information technology development projects of any unit of State government other than a public institution of higher education that: are unencumbered and unexpended at the end of a fiscal year; have been abandoned; or have been withheld by the General Assembly or the Secretary; any investment earnings; and any other money from any source accepted for the benefit of the Fund. The Fund does not include any money: received by the Department of Transportation, the Maryland Transportation Authority, Baltimore City Community College, or the Maryland Public Broadcasting Commission; received by the Judicial or Legislative branches of State government; or generated from pay phone commissions that are credited to other accounts or funds in accordance with other provisions of law or are authorized for other purposes in the State budget or through an approved budget amendment. The Governor shall submit with the State budget: a summary showing the unencumbered balance in the Fund as of the close of the prior fiscal year and a listing of any encumbrances; an estimate of projected revenue from each of the sources specified in subsection (e) of this section for the fiscal year for which the State budget is submitted; a descriptive listing of major information technology development projects reflecting projected costs for the fiscal year for which the State budget is submitted and any estimated future year costs; and the amount proposed to be set aside for expedited projects. Expenditures from the Fund shall be made only: in accordance with an appropriation approved by the General Assembly in the annual State budget; through an approved State budget amendment under Title 7, Subtitle 2, Part II of this article, provided that a State budget amendment for any project not requested as part of the State budget submission or for any project for which the scope or cost has increased by more than 5% or $250,000 shall be submitted to the budget committees allowing a 30–day period for their review and comment; or for expedited project contracts approved for funding by the Secretary and approved by the Board of Public Works as provided in § 12–101 of this article. The Fund may be used: for major information technology development projects; as provided in subsections (j) and (l) of this section; notwithstanding § 3.5–301(e)(2) of this subtitle, for the costs of the first 12 months of operation and maintenance of a major information technology development project; for expedited projects; or for major information technology development projects and expedited projects through a revolving loan process through which an agency may reimburse the Fund in future fiscal years as established by the Secretary in regulation. Notwithstanding subsection (b) of this section and except for the cost incurred in administering the Fund, each fiscal year up to $1,000,000 of this Fund may be used for: educationally related information technology projects; application service provider initiatives as provided for in Title 9, Subtitle 22 of the State Government Article; or information technology projects, including: pilots; and prototypes. A unit of State government or local government may submit a request to the Secretary to support the cost of an information technology project with money under subsection (j) of this section. Notwithstanding subsection (b) of this section and in accordance with paragraph (2) of this subsection, money paid into the Fund under subsection (e)(2) of this section: shall be used to support: the State telecommunication and computer network established under § 3.5–404 of this title, including program development for these activities; and the Statewide Public Safety Interoperability Radio System, also known as Maryland First (first responder interoperable radio system team), under Title 1, Subtitle 5 of the Public Safety Article; and at the Secretary’s discretion, may be used to support State–owned communication sites, communications facilities, and telecommunications equipment used in connection with information technology agreements entered into under § 3.5–307 of this subtitle, including program management for these activities. The Secretary may determine the portion of the money paid into the Fund that shall be allocated to each program described in paragraph (1) of this subsection. On or before January 15 each year, the Secretary shall submit a report to the General Assembly, in accordance with § 2–1257 of the State Government Article, specifying the amount of money paid into the Fund that was allocated to each program described in paragraph (1) of this subsection. The report required under this paragraph shall include how funds were allocated at the Secretary’s discretion under paragraph (1)(ii) of this subsection. On or before January 15 of each year, for each major information technology development project or expedited project currently in development or for which operations and maintenance funding is being provided in accordance with subsection (i)(3) of this section, subject to § 2–1257 of the State Government Article, the Secretary shall provide a summary report to the Department of Legislative Services with the most up–to–date project information including: project funding decisions and project status, including: estimated project or product costs; funding sources; and ongoing operating costs after the project is no longer a major development project or expedited project, including: costs associated with procuring and maintaining licenses; and support to continuously maintain and improve the project or product; any schedule, cost, and scope changes since the last annual report; a risk assessment provided by either the Department or the designated unit of State government that details the identified project or product risk, including: a description of the type of risk, including: governance; resource availability or capability; funding; interdependencies with other systems; technical issues; organizational culture; or ability to support in the long term; the risk likelihood; the risk priority; the risk owner; planned risk mitigation strategy; and the risk status as of the report date; project tracking metrics, including: describing the functionality and features that have been delivered as of the report date; and qualitative and quantitative data showing progress towards project goals; and any change in the monitoring or oversight status. The report submitted under this subsection: is confidential and not subject to disclosure under Title 4 of the General Provisions Article; shall communicate the requisite information in a clear and concise manner that, to the greatest extent possible, avoids the use of technical language or reliance on existing industry knowledge; and shall include an executive summary of key information, including: the total value of the portfolio, including: annual development costs; funding sources; and projected ongoing operating costs over the next 5 years; and a summary of new projects including: the advantages of the new projects; and any new or innovative aspects of development processes. The Department shall publish and maintain a publicly available project and portfolio dashboard on the Department’s website. The dashboard shall include all major information technology development projects and expedited projects, organized by the accountable unit of State government. For each project, the dashboard shall: specify the schedule management for the project, including: the project start date; estimated length of the project, by phase; planned milestones with estimated completion dates; and completed milestones with completion dates; list the estimated project cost; list the total amount appropriated for the current fiscal year; list the total amount spent during the prior fiscal year, categorized by: vendor costs; agency labor; software licenses, subscriptions, and other costs; other expenses; and total expenditures; for projects in development: the prior fiscal year forecast accompanied by actual data and the resulting variance; and the current year forecast; and subject to subsection (o) of this section, identify major project or product risks, including: risk description; risk impact; risk likelihood; mitigation strategy; and risk status. The Department may redact specific risks identified under subsection (n)(3)(vi) of this section from the public dashboard if the Department determines that public sharing of the information could pose a risk to the project. If a risk is redacted from the dashboard, the information shall be shared with the Legislative Policy Committee. A risk redacted from the dashboard is confidential and not subject to disclosure under Title 4 of the General Provisions Article. The Secretary may adopt regulations necessary to carry out this section. The Secretary shall adopt regulations necessary to establish a process for units of State government to request and receive funding for an expedited project aligned with the State Modernization Plan that shall: allow units of State government to apply for project funding biannually; be consistent with the goals and preferences established under Title 14 of this article and encourage small and minority business enterprise vendors; and provide measures that ensure compliance with this subtitle and the Department’s regulations by both vendors and units of State government. The Chief Information Officer for a unit of State government with a planned or ongoing major information technology development project shall meet with the Secretary on a quarterly basis to report on and discuss the ongoing information technology development projects, including: project budget; project vendor performance or nonperformance; project scope; project schedule; the capacity of the unit to implement the project; and any other items the Secretary deems relevant to the successful implementation of the project.