HBA-TYH H.B. 1190 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1190
By: Eiland
State Affairs
2/17/1999
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Currently, members of the legislature who use laptop computers for both
personal and legislative purposes must use two separate computers.  This
can be cumbersome and may lead to ethical and legal problems.  Meanwhile,
no mechanism is in place to allow members of the legislature to pay the
state for personal use of state-owned laptops.  H.B. 1190 requires state
agencies and offices that provide data-processing or computer services to
the legislature to establish procedures that would allow legislators to be
charged a fee to use those services for personal use. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Subchapter B, Chapter 301, Government Code, by adding
Section 301.033, as follows: 

Sec. 301.033.  USE OF DATA-PROCESSING FACILITIES.  (a)  Requires an office
or agency that provides data-processing or computer services or facilities
to individual members of the legislature for official use to establish
procedures by which a member may use the services or facilities for
personal use if that personal use is the same or similar to the official
uses for which the services or facilities are provided, if it does not
require substantial expansion or modification of the services or facilities
or substantial additional services to support the personal use, and if it
does not interfere with the official use of the services or facilities.  
 
(b)  Provides that the procedures must include a method for maintaining a
permanent record of the member's personal use of the services or facilities
and require the member to pay or reimburse the office or agency for all
costs incurred in connection with the member's personal use of the services
or facilities.  

(c)  Provides that information contained in the records of the member's
private use of the services or facilities is confidential, but authorizes
the office or agency providing the services or facilities and the state
auditor to examine that information to determine compliance with this
section. 

SECTION 2.  Effective date: September 1, 1999.

SECTION 3.  Emergency clause.