AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT
In 2009, President Barack Obama launched the Government Reform for Competiveness and Innovation program to seek ideas from federal employees regarding ways to make government more effective and efficient and to ensure taxpayer dollars are spent wisely. Over the past four years, thousands of cost-cutting ideas have been submitted, with many of the best suggestions put into practice.
H.B. 1128 seeks to provide a similar opportunity for the submission of cost-cutting ideas and suggestions at the state level by requiring larger state agencies to provide a moderated, web-based submission forum for input by state employees. The general public will be able to vote on their favorite ideas; however, the vote will merely be a reflection of public opinion, and not a mandate of action.
H.B. 1128 amends current law relating to posting suggestions and ideas on cost-efficiency on certain state agency websites.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
Rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the Texas Department of Information Resources in SECTION 1 (Section 2054.1264, Government Code) of this bill.
SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS
SECTION 1. Amends Subchapter F, Chapter 2054, Government Code, by adding Section 2054.1264, as follows:
Sec. 2054.1264. POSTING OF COST-EFFICIENCY SUGGESTIONS AND IDEAS ON STATE AGENCY WEBSITE. (a) Provides that, in this section, "state agency" does not include an institution of higher education, as defined by Section 61.003 (Definitions), Education Code.
(b) Requires each state agency that has 1,500 or more employees, except as provided by Subsection (d), 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. Requires that the system for submitting suggestions and ideas allow an employee to elect to submit a suggestion or idea that includes the employee's name or to submit an anonymous suggestion or idea. Prohibits the suggestion or idea, if an employee elects to submit anonymously, from being traceable to the employee and prohibits the system for anonymous submission from recording data linking the suggestion or idea to the computer used for the submission.
(c) Requires each state agency, except as provided by Subsection (d), to post on the agency's generally accessible Internet website a link allowing members of the public to:
(1) monitor, in real time or on a weekly or monthly basis, submissions made under Subsection (b); and
(2) vote for the public's favorite submission.
(d) Authorizes the Texas Department of Information Resource (DIR) to exclude from the requirements of this section a state agency if the agency has a preexisting program or link that DIR determines substantially meets the requirements of this section.
(e) Requires DIR to adopt rules establishing procedures and required formats for implementing this section. Requires that the rules adopted under this subsection require that submissions under Subsection (b) and votes under Subsection (c) be moderated to exclude overtly political or offensive material.
SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 2013.