This website will be unavailable from Thursday, May 30, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. through Monday, June 3, 2024 at 7:00 a.m. due to data center maintenance.
2003S0630-1 03/13/03
By: Carona S.B. No. 1579
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to software acquisitions by state agencies.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter F, Chapter 2054, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 2054.114 to read as follows:
Sec. 2054.114. ACQUISITION OF SOFTWARE. (a) In this
section:
(1) "Open source software" means software that
guarantees the user, without further cost:
(A) unrestricted use of the software for any
purpose;
(B) unrestricted access to the respective source
code;
(C) exhaustive inspection of the working
mechanisms of the software;
(D) use of the internal mechanisms and arbitrary
portions of the software to adapt them to the needs of the user;
(E) freedom to make and distribute copies of the
software; and
(F) freedom to modify the software and to
distribute the modified software under the same license as the
original software.
(2) "Open standards" means specifications for the
encoding and transfer of computer data that:
(A) are available for all to read and implement;
(B) do not lock the user into a particular vendor
or group;
(C) are free for all to implement with no royalty
or fee except for a fee or fees required by the standards
organization for certification of compliance;
(D) do not favor one implementer over another for
any reason other than the technical standards compliance of an
implementation; and
(E) do not prohibit the implementation of
extensions but may employ license terms that prevent subversion of
the standard through predatory practices.
(3) "Proprietary software" means software that does
not fulfill all of the guarantees provided by open source software.
(b) For all new software acquisitions, a state agency shall:
(1) consider acquiring open source software products
in addition to proprietary software products;
(2) except as provided by Subdivisions (4) and (5),
acquire software products primarily on a value-for-money basis;
(3) provide justification whenever a proprietary
software product is acquired instead of open source software;
(4) avoid the acquisition of products that do not
comply with open standards for interoperability or data storage;
and
(5) avoid the acquisition of products that are known
to make unauthorized transfers of information to, or permit
unauthorized control of or modification to the state government's
computer systems by, parties outside the control of the state
government.
SECTION 2. Section 2054.056, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 2054.056. COMPUTER SERVICES. (a) The department may
provide computer services under interagency contracts to state
agencies that choose to contract with the department.
(b) If the contracted service is for the acquisition of
software, the department shall comply with Section 2054.114.
SECTION 3. Section 2055.052, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 2055.052. GENERAL POWERS AND DUTIES. (a) The office
shall:
(1) establish and support standard business practices
for electronic government projects;
(2) coordinate and establish standards for
implementation of electronic government projects;
(3) identify and incorporate best practices for
electronic government projects in such areas as:
(A) the procurement of hardware, software, and
technology services;
(B) project support;
(C) implementation strategies;
(D) project planning and scheduling;
(E) quality assurance;
(F) overall team coordination;
(G) status reporting; and
(H) technical standards; and
(4) provide risk management and quality assurance
services for electronic government projects.
(b) In this section, "best practices" includes compliance
with Section 2054.114.
SECTION 4. Section 2155.062, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
(e) In purchasing software, the commission shall comply
with Section 2054.114.
SECTION 5. Section 2157.003, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 2157.003. DETERMINING BEST VALUE FOR PURCHASES OF
AUTOMATED INFORMATION SYSTEMS. "Best value" for purposes of this
chapter means the lowest overall cost of an automated information
system. In determining the lowest overall cost for a purchase or
lease of an automated information system under this chapter, the
commission or a state agency shall consider factors including:
(1) the purchase price;
(2) the compatibility to facilitate the exchange of
existing data;
(3) the capacity for expanding and upgrading to more
advanced levels of technology;
(4) quantitative reliability factors;
(5) the level of training required to bring persons
using the system to a stated level of proficiency;
(6) the technical support requirements for the
maintenance of data across a network platform and the management of
the network's hardware and software;
(7) the compliance with applicable Department of
Information Resources statewide standards validated by criteria
adopted by the department by rule; and
(8) applicable factors listed in Sections 2054.114,
2155.074, and 2155.075.
SECTION 6. Subsections (a) and (e), Section 2157.068,
Government Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) In this section:
(1) "Commodity software items" means commercial
software for personal computers, including open source software,
that is generally available to businesses or the public and for
which the department determines that a reasonable demand exists in
state agencies.
(2) "Department" means the Department of Information
Resources.
(3) "Open source software" has the meaning assigned by
Section 2054.114(a)(1).
(e) The department may adopt rules regulating a purchase by
a state agency of a commodity software item under this section,
including a requirement that, notwithstanding other provisions of
this chapter, the agency must make the purchase in accordance with a
contract developed by the department unless the agency obtains a
waiver from the department. Any rules adopted under this section
must comply with Section 2054.114.
SECTION 7. Subsection (c), Section 2157.125, Government
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(c) In determining which proposal under this subchapter
offers the best value for the state, the commission or other state
agency shall, when applicable and subject to Sections 2054.114,
2155.074, and 2155.075, consider factors including:
(1) the installation cost;
(2) the overall life of the system or equipment;
(3) the cost of acquisition, operation, and
maintenance of hardware included with, associated with, or required
for the system or equipment during the state's ownership or lease;
(4) the cost of acquisition, operation, and
maintenance of software included with, associated with, or required
for the system or equipment during the state's ownership or lease;
(5) the estimated cost of other supplies needed
because of the acquisition;
(6) the estimated cost of employee training needed
because of the acquisition;
(7) the estimated cost of necessary additional
permanent employees because of the acquisition; and
(8) the estimated increase in employee productivity
because of the acquisition.
SECTION 8. Section 2177.051, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (i) to read as follows:
(i) A contract for the procurement of software under this
section shall comply with Section 2054.114.
SECTION 9. Section 487.303, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
(c) The purchase of software under this section must be made
in compliance with Section 2054.114.
SECTION 10. Subsection (e), Section 531.0273, Government
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(e) The advisory committee appointed under Subsection (d)
shall advise the commission with respect to the implementation of
the commission's duties under Subsection (a)(1) and:
(1) shall advise the commission about:
(A) overall goals and objectives for information
resources management for all health and human services agencies;
(B) coordination of agency information resources
management plans;
(C) development of short-term and long-term
strategies for:
(i) implementing information resources
management policies, procedures, and technical standards; and
(ii) ensuring compatibility of information
resources systems across health and human services agencies as
technology changes;
(D) information resources training and skill
development for health and human services agency employees and
policies to facilitate recruitment and retention of trained
employees;
(E) standards for determining:
(i) the circumstances in which obtaining
information resources services under contract is appropriate;
(ii) the information resources services
functions that must be performed by health and human services
agency information resources services employees; and
(iii) the information resources services
skills that must be maintained by health and human services agency
information resources services employees;
(F) optimization of the use of information
resources technology that is in place at health and human services
agencies; and
(G) existing and potential future information
resources technologies and practices and the usefulness of those
technologies and practices to health and human services agencies;
and
(2) shall review and make recommendations to the
commission relating to the consolidation and improved efficiency of
information resources management functions, including:
(A) cooperative leasing of information resources
systems equipment;
(B) consolidation of data centers;
(C) improved network operations;
(D) technical support functions, including help
desk services, call centers, and data warehouses;
(E) administrative applications;
(F) purchases of standard software in compliance
with Section 2054.114;
(G) joint training efforts;
(H) recruitment and retention of trained agency
employees;
(I) video conferencing; and
(J) other related opportunities for improved
efficiency.
SECTION 11. This Act takes effect January 1, 2004, and
applies only to a contract for the acquisition of software by a
state agency that is entered into on or after that date. A contract
for the acquisition of software entered into by a state agency
before January 1, 2004, is governed by the law in effect on the date
the contract was entered into, and the former law is continued in
effect for that purpose.