HBA-DMD H.B. 1085 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1085
By: Hunter
State, Federal, & International Relations
3/4/1999
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

The Records Management Interagency Coordinating Council was required by the
75th Legislature to study the challenges introduced by digital formats to
the management of state records and to public access to state government
information.  The council's recommendations included that the Department of
Information Resources and the Texas State Library and Archives Commission
(commission) should establish administrative procedures and training to
ensure that their records management, archives, and information systems
staff work together and that there should be basic statutory requirements
for Records Management Officers (RMO) to have a better working relationship
with Information Resource Managers (IRM). Currently, there is a discrepancy
between the educational requirements and authority granted to the IRMs and
the RMOs.  The IRM is a senior official of a state agency who reports to
the director or deputy director and has budget authority, whereas the RMO
has no similar statutory definition.  H.B. 1085 requires the commission to
provide training programs and continuing education for officers and records
management and information staff.  Additionally, the bill allows for a
state employee to be appointed as the agency's officer only if the employee
reports directly to the agency head or the chief deputy to the agency head.

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 Section 441.182(e), Government Code, to require the
Texas State Library and Archives Commission (commission) to provide a
mandatory or optional training and continuing education program, as
determined by the commission, for records management officers to assist
them in administering records management programs in each state agency as
required under this subchapter.  Requires the commission to provide
training, with the cooperation of the Department of Information Resources,
for records management and information technology staff to assist them in
managing records in an electronic format. 

SECTION 2.  Amends Section 441.184(a), Government Code, to establish that
an employee of a state agency is eligible to be appointed as the agency's
records management officer only if the employee holds a position in which
the employee reports directly to the agency head or the chief deputy to the
agency head. 

SECTION 3.Effective date: September 1, 1999.

SECTION 4.Makes application of this Act prospective.

SECTION 5.Emergency clause.