86R13657 AAF-D

By: Buckingham S.B. No. 1727

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to improving communication with and service delivery by state agencies.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 2054, Government Code, is amended by adding Section 2054.069 to read as follows:

Sec. 2054.069. TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION FUND. (a) The technology innovation fund is a special fund in the state treasury outside the general revenue fund to be administered by the department under this section. The fund consists of legislative appropriations and other money transferred or credited to the fund by the legislature.

(b) Money in the fund may be spent only to:

(1) provide grants to state agencies for improving government communication with and service delivery to the public; and

(2) pay the department's administrative expenses for providing grants under Subdivision (1) and other administrative expenses as authorized under Subsection (g).

(c) The department shall establish specific criteria for a state agency to receive a grant from the fund under this section.

(d) The department shall award grants under this section to state agencies that submit proposals resulting in:

(1) the greatest improvement in efficiency to the state agency's contact center; or

(2) increased service delivery to the public.

(e) The department shall prioritize grant awards for state agency proposals providing an immediate, quantifiable benefit to service delivery to the public measured by whether the proposal:

(1) reduces the time a state agency takes to communicate information;

(2) streamlines and reduces the administrative burden to processing requests; and

(3) achieves cost savings for the public.

(f) The department shall require a state agency awarded a grant under this section to pay a portion of the total cost of implementing the state agency's proposal.

(g) A state agency, including the department, that incurs administrative expenses in the implementation of a remediation plan under Section 2054.137 may receive compensation for those expenses from the technology innovation fund.

(h) The department shall adopt rules necessary to implement this section.

SECTION 2. Subchapter F, Chapter 2054, Government Code, is amended by adding Section 2054.137 to read as follows:

Sec. 2054.137. CONTACT CENTERS. (a) The department shall by rule define "contact center." In defining the term, the department shall consider:

(1) services provided by a state agency through a contact center and whether the state agency provides those services through state employees or contracted vendors;

(2) the establishment of a threshold for call volume to determine whether a state agency is providing contact center services; and

(3) the use of innovative technologies to assist in customer interactions, including e-mail, callback technology, live Internet chat, and virtual assistant or conversational assistant technology.

(b) Not later than December 1 of each even-numbered year, a state agency that provides contact center services shall report on the performance of the contact center to the department. The department may require the report to include:

(1) service level;

(2) wait time;

(3) abandonment rate;

(4) accuracy of call forecasting;

(5) call duration;

(6) call wrap-up time;

(7) employee attrition; and

(8) any other performance measures as determined by the department.

(c) The department by rule shall establish minimum standards for performance of a state agency's contact center.

(d) A state agency that fails to meet the standards adopted under Subsection (c) for the agency's most recent reporting period shall, in coordination with the department or a vendor with whom the department contracts, establish a remediation plan to improve contact center performance. The remediation plan must:

(1) be based on best practices for contact center design and management;

(2) include potential solutions to address inefficiencies in the use of personnel and technology; and

(3) include an estimated timeline to remediate the identified concerns.

(e) A state agency that provides contact center services and does not properly track hold times or other performance measures as required by the department shall establish a remediation plan in accordance with Subsection (d).

(f) The department shall determine the frequency with which a state agency with habitually poor contact center performance must establish a remediation plan.

(g) The department, in coordination with each state agency that establishes a remediation plan under this section, shall submit a report to the legislature that includes the accomplishments in state agencies' implementations of remediation plans and additional steps to achieve performance targets related to contact center performance.

SECTION 3. Not later than December 1, 2019, the Department of Information Resources shall by rule define "contact center" as required by Section 2054.137, Government Code, as added by this Act.

SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.