PART 10. DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION RESOURCES
CHAPTER 215. STATEWIDE TECHNOLOGY CENTERS FOR DATA AND DISASTER RECOVERY SERVICES
SUBCHAPTER B. DATA CENTER SERVICES FOR STATE AGENCIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT
The Texas Department of Information Resources (department) adopts on an emergency basis an amendment to 1 Texas Administrative Code Chapter 215, §215.13, in response to the COVID-19 emergency to address urgent statewide technology needs of state agencies and local governments during the pandemic.
As authorized by Texas Government Code § 2001.034, the department may adopt an emergency rule without prior notice or hearing upon finding that an imminent peril to the public health, safety, or welfare requires adoption on fewer than 30 days' notice. Emergency rules adopted under Texas Government Code § 2001.034 may be effective for not longer than 120 days and may be renewed for not longer than 60 days.
The emergency amendment to §215.13 adds the deployment, development, and maintenance of software applications, including software as a service products, to the definition of Data Center Services.
The emergency rule amendment is in furtherance of the Governor's March 13, 2020, disaster proclamation and all subsequent disaster declarations extensions regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. Texas is experiencing a significant increase in COVID-19 cases. In response to this pandemic emergency, agencies and local governments have an enhanced reliance on technology to enable employees to work remotely and serve the public remotely. That reliance further increases the need for cybersecurity protections provided through the department. Specifically, state agencies and local governments require software applications, including software as a service products, to be available through the Data Center Services program to address the needs of the public during the COVID-19 pandemic. The department accordingly finds that an imminent peril to the public health, safety, and welfare of the state requires immediate adoption of this amendment providing access to certain services available to state agencies and local governments through the Data Center Services program.
The emergency rule amendment is adopted under the department’s specific authority to adopt rules and guidelines regarding the Statewide Technology Centers, Texas Government Code § 2054.378, and the department's general rulemaking authority granted under Texas Government Code § 2054.052(a) to adopts rules necessary to address the department's enumerated responsibilities under Texas Government Code Chapter 2054.
No other statutes, articles, or codes are affected by the emergency rule.
§215.13.Data Center Services.
(a) DCS services include:
(1) Mainframe services
(2) Server services, including cloud computing services
(3) Hosting and management of telecommunication hardware for emergency services
(4) Storage services, including cloud hosted services
(5) Bulk Print and mail services
(6) Network services for DCS connectivity
(7) Disaster Recovery services
(8) Infrastructure Service Integration Management
(9) Application Lifecycle Management
(10) the deployment, development, and maintenance of software applications, including but not limited to the procurement, configuration, and integration of software as a service products.
(b) With the exception of subsection (a)(8) and (a)(10) of section, unless an exemption has been requested and approved by the department pursuant to §215.10(a)(1)(B) of this chapter, designated DCS Customers shall not procure the services specified in this section outside the DCS program.
The agency certifies that legal counsel has reviewed the emergency adoption and found it to be within the state agency's legal authority to adopt.
Filed with the Office of the Secretary of State on February 2, 2021.
TRD-202100451
Katherine R. Fite
General Counsel
Department of Information Resources
Effective date: February 2, 2021
Expiration date: June 1, 2021
For further information, please call: (512) 475-4552