By Barrientos                                         S.B. No. 1053
         76R7249 BDH-F                           
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to the purchase of computer software items by certain
 1-3     state agencies.
 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-5           SECTION 1.  Subchapter B, Chapter 2157, Government Code, is
 1-6     amended by adding Section 2157.068 to read as follows:
 1-7           Sec. 2157.068.  PURCHASE OF COMMODITY SOFTWARE ITEMS.  (a)
 1-8     In this section:
 1-9                 (1)  "Commodity software items" means commercial
1-10     software for personal computers that is generally available to
1-11     businesses or the public and for which the department determines
1-12     that a reasonable demand exists in state agencies.
1-13                 (2)  "Department" means the Department of Information
1-14     Resources.
1-15           (b)  The department shall negotiate with qualified
1-16     information systems vendors to attempt to obtain a favorable price
1-17     for all of state government on licenses for commodity software
1-18     items, based on the aggregate volume of purchases expected to be
1-19     made by the state.  The terms and conditions of a license agreement
1-20     between a vendor and the department under this section may not be
1-21     less favorable to the state than the terms of similar license
1-22     agreements between the vendor and retail distributors.
1-23           (c)  The department may charge a reasonable administrative
1-24     fee to a state agency or political subdivision that purchases
 2-1     commodity software items through the department that is sufficient
 2-2     to recover costs associated with the administration of this
 2-3     section.
 2-4           (d)  The department shall compile and maintain a list of
 2-5     commodity software items available for purchase through the
 2-6     department that have a lower price than the prices for commodity
 2-7     software items otherwise available to state agencies under this
 2-8     chapter.  The department shall make the list available on the world
 2-9     wide web or on a suitable successor to the world wide web if the
2-10     technological developments involving the Internet make it advisable
2-11     to do so.
2-12           (e)  The department may adopt rules regulating a purchase by
2-13     a state agency of a commodity software item under this section,
2-14     including a requirement that, notwithstanding other provisions of
2-15     this chapter, the agency must make the purchase in accordance with
2-16     a contract developed by the department unless the agency obtains a
2-17     waiver from the department.
2-18           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
2-19           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the
2-20     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
2-21     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
2-22     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
2-23     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.