By:  Swinford                                                     H.B. No. 2699

Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2699:                                   

By:  Keffer of Eastland                                       C.S.H.B. No. 2699



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the Department of Information Resources.                          
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Section 2170.001(a)(2), Government Code, is 
amended to read as follows:
	Section 2170.001(a)(2).  "Telecommunications Services" 
means communications facilities or services.  The term does not 
include single agency point-to-point radio systems or facilities 
systems.  The term does include services over converged networks.
	SECTION 2.  Section 2054.1185, Government Code, is hereby 
repealed.          
	SECTION 3.  Section 2170.003, Government Code, is amended to 
read as follows:
	Section 2170.003.  OWNERSHIP OR LEASE OF NECESSARY 
EQUIPMENT.  (a)  The department may own, lease, or lease–purchase 
in accordance with Chapters 2155, 2156, 2157, and 2158 any and all 
of the facilities or equipment necessary to provide 
telecommunications services.  The department may acquire 
telecommunications services without competitive bid from the 
Lonestar Education and Research Network (LEARN) or its successors 
for the purposes established in subsection (b).

(b)  During an emergency, a single node failure or a system wide 
failure of the consolidated telecommunications system, the 
department may divert telecommunications services traffic to LEARN 
to avoid service interruption.  Upon resolution of the emergency 
and upon determination that the consolidated telecommunications 
system is operational, traffic will be diverted back to the 
consolidated telecommunications system.  The department may also 
use LEARN for the purposes of latency tolerant date transfer of 
files to or from a consolidated state data center established and 
operated by the department.  The LEARN shall be exclusively used by 
the department only for the purposes set out in this section.
	SECTION 4.  Section 2054.021, Government Code, is amended to 
read as follows:
	Section 2054.021(d).  An ex officio member may designate the 
information resources manager or another senior manager of the 
member's agency to serve in the member's place.
	SECTION 5.  Section 771.031, Health and Safety Code, is 
amended by amending Subsection (b) to read as follows:
	(b)  the following individuals serve as nonvoting ex officio 
members:        
		(1)  the executive director of the Public Utility 
Commission of Texas, or an individual designated by the executive 
director;
		(2)  the executive director of the [General Services 
Commission] Department of Information Resources, or an individual 
designated by the executive director; and
		(3)  the commissioner of public health, or an 
individual who has responsibility for the poison control network 
designated by the commissioner.
	SECTION 6.  Section 2170.004, Government Code is amended to 
read as follows: 
	Section 2170.004.  CONTRACTS WITH ENTITIES OTHER THAN STATE 
AGENCIES.  The department may contract for use of the consolidated 
telecommunications system with:
		(1)  each house of the legislature;                                           
		(2)  a legislative agency;                                                    
		(3)  an agency that is not a state agency as defined by 
Section 2151.002    
		(4)  a political subdivision, including a county, 
municipality, or district; [and]
		(5)  a private institution of higher education 
accredited by a recognized accrediting agency, as defined by 
Section 61.003, Education Code, that:
			(A)  engages in distance learning, as defined by 
Section 57.021, Utilities Code, and
			(B)  receives federal funds for distance learning 
initiatives; and  
		(6)  a private business or other entity that serves a 
state agency through an existing contract for services in support 
of the core mission of the state agency, where:

(a)  the contracted entity's use of the consolidated 
telecommunications system would result in cost savings to the state 
agency under the related service contract, and

(b)  the department would contract with the private business or 
other entity only because of a telecommunications network 
consolidation project between the state agency and the department.
	SECTION 7.  Section 7 of Chapter 432, Acts of the 77th 
Legislature, Regular Session, 2001, is hereby repealed.
	SECTION 8.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.