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House Bill 1705 |
House Author: Geren |
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Effective: 9-1-09 |
Senate Sponsor: Ellis |
House Bill 1705 amends the Government Code to abolish the telecommunications planning and oversight council. The bill transfers to the Department of Information Resources (DIR) the council's former responsibilities relating to telecommunications planning and policymaking and the state's consolidated telecommunications system and centralized capitol complex telephone system. It provides that a rule, form, plan, policy, or order of the council is continued in effect as a rule, form, plan, policy, or order of the DIR until superseded by a rule or other appropriate action of the DIR. The bill modifies provisions regarding the instructions the DIR is required to provide state agencies for use in preparing their strategic plans. It amends the law requiring a state agency to provide the DIR a planned procurement schedule for commodity items to make such a schedule mandatory only if the DIR requires one from the agency. The bill adds an assistance organization, as defined by statutes governing surplus and salvage property, to the list of entities that the DIR by contract may allow to use the state's consolidated telecommunications system. The bill repeals provisions relating to electronic commerce and electronic state government procurement, an electronic infrastructure for online travel reservation and ticketing, the DIR's establishment of an information resources technology evaluation center, and the DIR's biennial report assessing state agency automated information systems. It eliminates the interagency panel on software portfolio management training. The bill makes conforming changes to other provisions of the Government Code, and to the Natural Resources Code and Local Government Code. It amends the Education Code to require the DIR to adopt performance and interoperability standards for software used by school districts for financial accounting or attendance reporting.