Executive Order

Executive Order  No. 588: Rescinding Executive Orders 504 and 549 (data security)

Date: 08/26/2019
Issuer: Governor Charlie Baker
Mass Register: No. 1400
Rescinding: Executive Order No. 504
Rescinding: Executive Order No. 549

Table of Contents

WHEREAS, prior administrations recognized the importance of coordinating and centralizing management and operation of the Executive Department’s information technology systems and ensuring data privacy and to support these goals issued Executive Orders 504 and 549;

WHEREAS, on August 1, 2017, Chapter 64 of the Acts of 2017, An Act to Reorganize the Information Technology Function of the Commonwealth to Improve Data Security, Safeguard Privacy, and Promote Better Service Delivery (“the Act”) went into effect;

WHEREAS, the Act created the Executive Office of Technology Services and Security (“EOTSS”) and established a legal framework that allows EOTSS to centralize information technology infrastructure service across the executive department and to direct the regular updating of policies and procedures governing state cybersecurity, digital platforms, and data management;

WHEREAS, the Act established a new legal structure that authorizes EOTSS to adopt policies, standards and procedures that will, upon implementation, replace the requirements set forth in Executive Orders 504 and 549; and

WHEREAS, more broadly, the Act authorized EOTSS to address and expand upon the purposes and objectives that underlie Executive Orders 504 and 549;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Charles D. Baker, Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution, Part 2, c. 2, § 1, Art. 1, do hereby order as follows:

Executive Orders 504 and 549 are hereby rescinded effective October 25, 2019; provided, however, that this rescission shall not be deemed to alter the rights or obligations of any party to a contract referencing either Executive Order. 

The Executive Office of Technology Services and Security, the Human Resources Division, and the Operational Services Division, in coordination with the Comptroller, shall update by October 25, 2019, all policies, procedures, forms and other materials necessary to ensure continued safeguarding of personal information by state agencies within the Executive Department under the framework established by the Executive Office of Technology Services and Security.

Given at the Executive Chamber in Boston this 26th day of August in the year of our Lord two thousand nineteen and of the Independence of the United States of America two hundred forty-three.

Contact   for No. 588: Rescinding Executive Orders 504 and 549 (data security)

Help Us Improve Mass.gov  with your feedback

Please do not include personal or contact information.
Feedback