Honorable Rodney Ellis, Chair, Senate Committee on Government Organization
FROM:
John S O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB2439 by Gallego (Relating to posting suggestions and ideas on cost-efficiency and certain budget documents on certain state agency websites.), As Engrossed
There is an indeterminate cost to the state from provisions of the bill relating to posting cost-efficiency suggestions and ideas on certain state agency websites.
The bill would amend the Government Code relating to posting cost-efficiency suggestions and ideas and certain budget documents on certain agency websites.
Section 1 of the bill would require a state agency with at least 1,500 employees to post on the agency’s intranet website or generally accessible Internet website an electronic form or link allowing an employee of the agency to submit suggestions and ideas on how to make the agency more cost-efficient. The bill would require the state agencies to post on the agency’s generally accessible Internet website a link allowing members of the public to monitor the suggestions and vote for their favorite submissions. The bill would require the Department of Information (DIR) to adopt rules establishing procedures and required formats and would authorize DIR to exclude a state agency from requirements of the bill if DIR determines that the agency has a preexisting program or link that substantially meets the requirements of the bill.
It is anticipated that costs to implement provisions of Section 1 of the bill would range from $0 to approximately $100,000 for an affected agency for the 2012-13 biennium. Factors affecting costs would vary based on rules adopted by DIR and standards for general accessibility, which could include: screen readers, Braille terminals, screen recognition, screen magnification and speech recognition. Costs may include subscription or licensing of applications; application development; programming; and maintenance.
Section 2 of the bill would direct the Legislative Budget Board to post on the Internet all documents prepared by the board that are provided to a committee, subcommittee, or conference committee of either house of the Legislature in connection with an appropriations bill. It is estimated that this responsibility could be performed using existing resources.
The bill's requirement to post on the Internet all documents prepared in connection with an appropriations bill may conflict with exemptions and privileges provided elsewhere under the law.
Local Government Impact
No fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.