[Ecommerce] Bill requiring state govt. to consider using open source

[Manon Anne Ress]

Thanks to JR for pointer to very interesting Oregon bill:
http://www.leg.state.or.us/03reg/measures/hb2800.dir/hb2892.intro.html

More on the bill at:
http://www.leg.state.or.us/barnhart/home.htm

March 3003. David A. Wheeler's article:
http://www.dwheeler.com/oss_fs_why.html


72nd OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2003 Regular Session
snip
LC 2937

                          House Bill 2892

Sponsored by Representative BARNHART (at the request of Ken
   Barber)

                              SUMMARY

The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the
measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject to
consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor's
brief statement of the essential features of the measure as
introduced.

   Requires state government to consider using open source
software when acquiring new software. Sets other requirements for
acquiring software.

                         A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to software acquisitions by state government.
   (1) The Legislative Assembly finds that:
   (a) The cost of obtaining software for the state's computer
systems has become a significant expense to the state;
   (b) The personnel costs of maintaining the software on the
state's computers has also become a significant expense to the
state;
   (c) It is necessary to the functioning of the state that
computer data owned by the state be permanently available to the
state throughout its useful life;
   (d) To guarantee the succession and permanence of public data,
it is necessary that the state's accessibility to that data be
independent of the goodwill of the state's computer system
suppliers and the monopoly conditions imposed by these suppliers;
   (e) It is in the public interest to ensure interoperability of
computer systems through the use of software and products that
promote open, platform-neutral standards;
   (f) It is also in the public interest that the state be free,
to the greatest extent possible, of restrictions imposed by
parties outside the state's control on how, and for how long, the
state may use the software it has acquired; and
   (g) It is not in the public interest and it is a violation of
the fundamental right to privacy for the state to use software
that, in addition to its stated function, also transmits data to,
or allows control and modification of its systems by, parties
outside of the state's control.
   (2) The Legislative Assembly further finds that:
   (a) The acquisition and widespread deployment of open source
software can significantly reduce the state's costs of obtaining
and maintaining software;
   (b) Open source software guarantees that its encoding of data
is not tied to a single provider;
   (c) Open source software ensures interoperability through
adherence to open, platform-neutral standards;

   (d) Open source software contains no restrictions on how, or
for how long, it may be used; and
   (e) Since open source software fully discloses its internal
operations, it can be audited, at any time and by anyone of the
state's choosing, for internal functions that are contrary to the
public's interests and rights.
   (3) Therefore, it is in the public interest that the State of
Oregon consider using open source software in its public
computing functions.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
   SECTION 1.  { + (1) As used in this section:
   (a) 'Open source software' means software that guarantees the
user, without further cost:
   (A) Unrestricted use of the software for any purpose;
   (B) Unrestricted access to the respective source code;
   (C) Exhaustive inspection of the working mechanisms of the
software;
   (D) Use of the internal mechanisms and arbitrary portions of
the software, to adapt them to the needs of the user;
   (E) Freedom to make and distribute copies of the software; and
   (F) Modification of the software and freedom to distribute
modifications of the new resulting software, under the same
license as the original software.
   (b) 'Open standards' means specifications for the encoding and
transfer of computer data that:
   (A) Are available for all to read and implement;
   (B) Do not lock the user into a particular vendor or group;
   (C) Are free for all to implement with no royalty or fee except
for a fee or fees required by the standards organization for
certification of compliance;
   (D) Do not favor one implementer over another for any reason
other than the technical standards compliance of an
implementation; and
   (E) Do not prohibit the implementation of extensions, but may
employ license terms that prevent subversion of the standard
through predatory practices.
   (c) 'Proprietary software' means software that does not fulfill
all of the guarantees provided by open source software.
   (d) 'State government' has the meaning given that term in ORS
174.111.
   (2) For all new software acquisitions, the person or governing
body charged with administering each administrative division of
state government, including every department, division, agency,
board or commission, without regard to the designation given the
entity, shall:
   (a) Consider acquiring open source software products in
addition to proprietary software products;
   (b) Except as provided in paragraphs (d) and (e) of this
subsection, acquire software products primarily on a
value-for-money basis;
   (c) Provide justification whenever a proprietary software
product is acquired rather than open source software;
   (d) Avoid the acquisition of products that do not comply with
open standards for interoperability or data storage; and
   (e) Avoid the acquisition of products that are known to make
unauthorized transfers of information to, or permit unauthorized
control of or modification to state government's computer systems
by, parties outside the control of state government. + }
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-- 
Manon Anne Ress
Consumer Project on Technology
www.cptech.org
PO Box 19367, Washington, DC 20036
manon.ress@cptech.org, voice: 1.202.387.8030, fax: 1.202.234.5176