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Relating to employment
of a statewide data coordinator in the Department of Information Resources.
No fiscal implication
to the State is anticipated.
HB 1912, if passed, would modify the Government Code (Section 1, Subchapter B, Chapter 2054) to allow the Department of Information Resources to employ a data coordinator. This data coordinator would be given a variety of tasks including improving control of information security, promoting the sharing of information between agencies, and reducing information collection costs. The data coordinator would also be tasked with improving coordination and security among the state agencies involved. The final section of HB 1912 includes a subsection which requires that state agencies cooperate with the data coordinator.
The second chamber sponsor is Senator Zaffirini.
Cybersecurity is a
legitimate concern of the state, and an area in which the statute is likely to
require adaptation at a fairly regular basis. We see no problem with either the
goal of increased coordination between state agencies, or the means proposed by HB 1912. The state holds a good deal of private information that, if accessed
by people with bad intentions, could lead to identity theft or other things
deleterious to taxpayers. As such we support HB 1912.