HBA-EDN H.B. 3200 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 3200 By: Brimer State Affairs 4/11/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE One of the initial statutory duties of the Department of Information Resources (DIR) was to review and approve all information technology purchases by state agencies. Consequently, DIR's employee and board member conflict of interest provision was broadly drafted to address the possibility of conflicts of interest as DIR staff reviewed and approved other agencies' information technology purchases. Although DIR no longer reviews and approves other agencies' information technology purchases, the conflict of interest statute has not been narrowed. This effectively leaves DIR in the position of not hiring anyone above a certain salary if they are married to an individual who is employed by, or consults for, an information resources technology company. House Bill 3200 removes this provision and narrows the conflict of interest statute for DIR employees. 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 3200 amends the Government Code to require the Department of Information Resources (DIR) to remove from the bidding process, including development of the proposal through award of the contract and contract negotiation, any employee who receives more than 5 percent of the individual's income from any likely respondent to a bid proposal issued by DIR, or whose spouse is employed by any likely respondent to a bid proposal issued by DIR. The bill removes the provision prohibiting DIR from employing a person who earns a certain salary or whose spouse is employed by or consults for an information resources technology company. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.