IMF H.B. 3475 75(R)BILL ANALYSIS STATE AFFAIRS H.B. 3475 By: Alvarado 4-10-97 Committee Report (Unamended) BACKGROUND The Comptroller of Public Accounts Texas Performance Review in the December 1996 report, "Disturbing the Peace," recommended that the state improve its maintenance of state government telephone numbers to make them more accessible to the public. The reports cites that the blue pages government directory found in most phone books is not helpful in finding specific programs because they are categorized by government agency and not service. The report recommended that the Records Management Interagency Coordinating Council (RMICC) develop a statewide subject matter index for organizing state information, and that the General Services Commission (GSC) work with telephone companies to reorganize the blue pages to comply with the categories designed by the RMICC. Finally, the report recommended that GSC reorganize and expand its telephone directories to meet the guidelines created by the RMICC. PURPOSE As proposed, H.B. 3475 would effectively place the comptroller's recommendations into law. The bill requires the RMICC to create a subject-matter based directory. It also requires GSC to work with telephone companies to reorganize the blue pages to use RMICC subject-matter guidelines. The bill requires GSC to update its directories to meet RMICC guidelines and to update weekly its on-line directories. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that this bill expressly grants rulemaking authority to the Public Utility Commission (PUC)in SECTION 2 (Sec. 3.309(c) PURA of 1995 [Article 1446c-0, V.T.C.S.]) of the bill. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Section 441.053 of the Government Code by amending Subsection (j) and adding Subsection (k) as follows: Section 441.053 (j) requires the Records Management Interagency Coordinating Council to catagorize state agency programs and telephone numbers by subject matter and agency. Section 441.053 (k) recodifies the previous Subsection (j) as Subsection (k). SECTION 2. Amends Section 3.309 of the Public Utility Regulatory Act of 1995 (Article 1446c-0, V.T.C.S.) as follows: Section 3.309 (b) removes language prohibiting the commission from requiring that the blue pages (government) section of phone books exceed two pages. Section 3.309 (c) states that new PUC rules must require telephone book publishers to list the numbers for state government information and to list those telephone numbers alphabetically by the subject matter of agency programs as well as alphabetically by agency. Section 3.309 (d) requires the GSC to cooperate with the PUC and with telephone book publishers to ensure that the categorizations of state telephone numbers is consistent with the categories established by the RMICC. SECTION 3. Amends Section 2170.005 of the Government Code by adding Subsection (c) as follows: Section 2170.005 (c) requires that telephone books published by GSC be revised regularly and list the state telephone numbers alphabetically by subject matter as well as by state agency. The listing must be consistent with the categorization developed by the RMICC. The Subsection also requires that on-line directories maintained by GSC be updated every time GSC updates the numbers given to directory-assistance operators (weekly). SECTION 4. Requires the RMICC to create a research group to study: the functional requirements, cost-effective guidelines, possible state policy and standards, and a database for archiving records. SECTION 5. Requires the RMICC to complete its initial categorization of state programs and telephone numbers by January 1, 1999. SECTION 6. Effective date: September 1, 1997. SECTION 7. Emergency clause.