HBA-BSM H.B. 2773 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2773
By: Chavez
State Affairs
3/21/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Currently, state law does not provide a state agency the authority to
cancel projects that fail to meet expectations.  Because of this, there is
the potential for state agencies to continue spending funds on ineffective
projects.  House Bill 2773 authorizes state agencies to cancel electronic
government projects that fail to meet expectations. 

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. 

ANALYSIS

House Bill 2773 amends the Government Code to prohibit a state agency from
spending appropriated funds for an electronic government project if the
Department of Information Resources (department) determines that the
project fails to meet expectations.  The bill requires the department to
consult with the Legislative Budget Board  and the budget division of the
governor's office when making the determination. The bill requires the
department after the consultation to establish: 

 _criteria for determining if an electronic government project fails to
meet expectations; 
 
 _procedures for negotiating with a state agency that is not allowed to
spend appropriated funds for an electronic government; 
 
 _allowing a state agency to resume spending appropriated funds for the
electronic government project; and 
 
 _recommending options for future spending of the appropriated funds.

H.B. 2773 requires the department to establish a quality assurance team to
monitor projects over which the department has jurisdiction.  The team is
required to monitor all projects to determine compliance with department
standards.  The bill also authorizes the department to create a program
management office to perform these duties of the department. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act
takes effect September 1, 2001.