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Below is the HillCo client report from the June 18 Senate Government Organization Committee hearing.
 
The committee met to consider the following interim charges:
 
Examine state agencies' mandated reporting practices, the necessity and utility of these reports, and reporting processes to the legislature and to the public. Make recommendations on eliminating unnecessary and duplicative reports, reducing state costs through the use of technology, and improving transparency to the legislature and citizens.
 
Monitor the implementation of SB 1597, relating to the development of state agency information security plans to improve the security of agency information systems and to proactively protect the state against cybercrime and similar threats.
 
State Agency Reporting
 
Patrick Moore, Legislative Budget Board

  • Prior to 79th legislature there was no process for eliminating outdated reports
    • LBB staff recommended implementing an ongoing process to eliminate these unnecessary reports
  • Since then, the legislature has continued efforts to eliminate obsolete reports through legislation
  • Actions taken by the 82nd and 83rd legislatures did not decrease fiscal impact of reporting but does increase agency productivity

 
Nanette Feaster, Texas State Library and Archives Commission

  • The commission creates a compendium of agency reports every year
  • The draft 2015 compilation has around 1,200 reports in it
  • Sen. Jose Rodriguez asked if the compilation is available to the public
    • Yes; it is posted to the library commission website
  • Rodriguez asked if there are reports that are not sent to the legislature
    • Yes; certain reports are distributed between agencies and are not required to be distributed to legislators
  • Chairman Judith Zaffirini noted funding was requested to create a depository of reports and an appropriation was not made; is that a problem
    • The request was made to create a depository of archiveable documents; those reports are not archiveable; it would help to allow the public to find the reports that are viewable
  • Zaffirini asked how many reports will be eliminated in the next issue
    • Hard to say
  • Zaffirini noted in the last two sessions around 200 reports were eliminated
    • Almost 300 new reports have been added since the 82nd session
  • Zaffirini asked what the timeline for the 2015 review will be
    • Agency assessments should be in by August and the draft will be prepared by November

 
Talmadge Heflin, Texas Public Policy Foundation

  • The budget process instituted in 1993 reduces transparency; stopped the programmatic look at the budget and began looking at the budget by strategy
  • It is time to take a look at funding at the program level again
  • The budget process and documents which are posted online throughout the process should be updated to help legislators and the public view the process in real time
  • Sen. Brian Birdwell asked if House or Senate appropriations committees have the capacity to do what the foundation is recommending with current resources
    • Both entities should look to LBB to provide that service; they do have the capability and may not be able to implement the recommendation all at one time but should be able to move that way over time
  • Zaffirini asked how transparency efforts compare to other states
    • Texas has one of the best systems in the country but that isn’t to say there isn’t room for improvement

 
Jorge Renaud, Texas Criminal Justice Coalition

  • In order to craft the most effective policy, the group relies on accurate, complete and expedient reporting
  • Many state agencies do not always issue required reports and much of the information available is outdated or incorrect
  • More detailed and more nuanced information needs to be made available from criminal justice agencies

 
Bob Kafka, ADAPT of Texas

  • The way Texas’ HHSC agencies are organized is confusing
  • Each agency has its own way of doing business and it is confusing to navigate the system
  • There should be an information and access plan so that people with disabilities can access information in a one stop shop
  • Zaffirini asked how HHS agencies could improve
    • There should be a look at information provided and whether it is the same information the public wants to see

 
Rene Lara, Texas AFl-CIO

  • Last session HB 13, relating to information available from public pension funds, called for financial information to be made available online
  • The privatization of government services is a threat to the availability and transparency principle
  • It needs to be determined whether entities doing work for the state must make certain information available under the public information act; legislation should be drafted next session to affirm that it should
  • Rodriguez asked for examples where privatization has reduced transparency
    • Recently, there was litigation regarding the Corrections Corporation of America and what data they had to provide; the fact that the public had to go to court to get the information is burdensome and reduces transparency
  • Zaffirini asked where the state could improve in this area
    • There should be a clear mandate that these entities make their information public; salaries of employees who are contracted by the state for example

 
Kelly Shannon, Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas

  • More reports should be made easily available and posted prominently on agency websites
  • State agencies should adhere more strictly to the public information act
  • If repeated requests are coming in on a certain topic, that data should be published to reduce costs and time spent on requests
  • Committee substitutes should be made available in real time

 
Beth Hallmark, Office of the Comptroller

  • Transparency.org is a comprehensive look at state spending
  • The transparency is ongoing and improves over time
  • There is a state grant listing on the website as well as a very granular look at how state money is spent
  • The monthly state revenue watch is another way to look at funding and how it compares to estimates
  • Zaffirini asked what tools will be added in the future
    • More data visualizations and ways to aggregate currently existing data; not necessarily collecting more data just making it more useful

 
John McGeady, Legislative Budget Board

  • The agency has an ongoing goal of increasing access, availability and timeliness
  • Discussed the process of publishing budget documents during the budgeting process
  • Last session LBB started making program level information available for the public
  • Issue briefs were an effort to make relevant information more available to the public by subject matter
  • Zaffirini asked if a senator requests information will the response to the information be distributed to other senators
    • It will be distributed to committee chairs for relevant committees, the governor, lieutenant governor and speaker and sometimes to committee members of a relevant committee
  • Zaffirini asked if a requestor is made aware of the other offices that receive the same information they requested
    • Yes; that is in the policy
  • Zaffirini asked for ways to be more transparent in the conference committee process
    • Initial issue dockets are published that show and describe differences between the House and Senate bills; the process is much more hectic and in an attempt to not publish inaccurate data less information is made public
  • Zaffirini asked if there would be a way to notify members if items are added or deleted through that process
    • It would be difficult because many times riders and other parts of the bills are handed to LBB at the last minute

 
Suzanne Brown, Higher Education Coordinating Board

  • The agency collects information from institutions in order to help with funding decisions as well as to comply with state and federal requirements
  • The agency also makes information available to potential students to compare colleges and universities
  • Information is collected in order to show public school districts how their students do in higher education as well as to show income information for post-college work

 
Cybersecurity
 
Brian Engall, Texas Department of Information Resources

  • SB 1597 (82R)  required each agency to develop and regularly update a cybersecurity plan
  • Cyber threats are ever evolving and security programs must address these adaptations regularly
  • DIR has conducted and will conduct workshops to assist agencies in implementing their agency security plans
  • Rodriguez asked if more cyber-attacks are related to crime, mischief or for a competitive business advantage
    • Most are an attempt to secure private information
  • Zaffirini asked if there are best practices we can adopt from other states
    • Yes; many national best practices are adopted by states
  • Zaffirini asked how agencies can assure self-assessments are being done by trained personnel
    • The persons performing those duties are generally security managers and have training; also, the agency gets assistance from DIR

 
Mary Dickerson, Texas Cyber Security, Education and Economic Development Council

  • The council was authorized in the 82nd session to aid the state in cybersecurity efforts
  • The council found the state had many issues with cybersecurity; key advances were not managed at a statewide level, the state had no qualified cybersecurity staff, etc.
  • The Cyber Texas Council was established to promote a cybersecurity strategy for the state as well as to the public

 
Brig. Gen. Kenneth Wisian, Deputy Adjutant General

  • In 2013 there were more than 250,000 reported attacks on public and private cyber data
  • Many of those were involved with energy markets or systems
  • There are many legal issues that still exist in the cyber area; what can be prosecuted, what is illegal, etc.
  • Birdwell asked if the capacity of the Texas military force is designed to protect the Texas military force or for the benefit of the public
    • Assets are in place to protect the public from cyber threats on a national level and are more or less directed at the national level