C.S.H.B. 629 78(R) BILL ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 629 By: Pitts State Affairs Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Under current law, state agencies are required to perform audits on software licenses for software installed at the agency on a biennial basis and to submit the audit results to the Texas Department of Information Resources (DIR) for compilation in a report in DIR's legislative appropriations request. Evidence obtained from state agencies suggests that the cost of performing these software audits exceeds the benefit derived from the audits. The purpose of C.S.H.B. 629 is to eliminate this requirement. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the committee that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 629 repeals section 2054.124 of the Government Code. This section currently requires state agencies to perform a biennial audit of software licenses for software installed in the agency's desktop and portable computers, and to submit the audit results to the Texas Department of Information Resources. EFFECTIVE DATE Upon passage, or if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act takes effect September 1, 2003. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE C.S.H.B. 629 differs from the original by repealing Section 2054.124 of the Government Code. The original did not repeal this section, but rather amended the section to expand the interval between state agency audits from two to four years.