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House Bill 2499 |
House Author: Cook |
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Effective: Vetoed |
Senate Sponsor: Nichols |
House Bill 2499 amends the Government Code to continue the Department of Information Resources (DIR) until September 1, 2017, and to incorporate across-the-board sunset provisions. The bill transfers the statewide program for purchasing information and communications technology services and products from DIR to the comptroller of public accounts and requires the Sunset Advisory Commission to evaluate the transfer of the powers and duties for presentation to the 84th Legislature.
House Bill 2499 requires DIR governing board members to have expertise in specified areas and changes the composition of the board's ex officio membership. The board is required to appoint an internal auditor, establish a board audit subcommittee, appoint a customer advisory committee, and adopt a policy describing the board's role in setting DIR's strategic direction. The bill requires the board to define what constitutes a major outsourced contract and to establish approval requirements for all other contracts and requires DIR to create a management plan for each major outsourced contract.
DIR must establish procedures to determine administrative fees charged to administer its programs, develop criteria for the appropriate use of consultants and outside staff, develop a method of measuring costs and progress of an information resources technology consolidation initiative, provide, on request, technical assistance to a state agency, and establish contract management policies, procedures, and training. House Bill 2499 exempts from data center consolidation the databases or networks managed by the Department of Agriculture, the General Land Office, and a state agency in the judicial branch of state government.
Reason Given for Veto: "House Bill 2499, the Department of Information Resources sunset bill, contains a number of substantive changes to the operation of the agency, including important ones, such as the hiring of an internal auditor.
"However, House Bill 2499 seems to ignore the progress DIR's new leadership has made in improving agency operations and efficiencies. The bill also undermines executive branch authority by removing a single state agency from data center consolidation, removing qualified and hardworking board members from their positions without cause, and removing DIR's important procurement function during the ongoing re-procurement of data services.
"I do not take lightly the impact this veto could have on the future of important state information resources functions. Therefore, I have asked the legislature to include legislation during the ongoing special session to extend DIR operations through 2017.
"I also request DIR to closely examine the Sunset Commission report, as well as House Bill 2499, to help implement additional operational improvements, and to work closely with its agency customers and experts in the Office of the Comptroller of Public Accounts and office of the Attorney General, to constantly improve procurement efficiency and effectiveness."