Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1727 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	86R13657 AAF-D
2	2	By: Buckingham S.B. No. 1727
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to improving communication with and service delivery by
8	8	state agencies.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 2054, Government Code, is
11	11	amended by adding Section 2054.069 to read as follows:
12	12	Sec. 2054.069. TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION FUND. (a) The
13	13	technology innovation fund is a special fund in the state treasury
14	14	outside the general revenue fund to be administered by the
15	15	department under this section. The fund consists of legislative
16	16	appropriations and other money transferred or credited to the fund
17	17	by the legislature.
18	18	(b) Money in the fund may be spent only to:
19	19	(1) provide grants to state agencies for improving
20	20	government communication with and service delivery to the public;
21	21	and
22	22	(2) pay the department's administrative expenses for
23	23	providing grants under Subdivision (1) and other administrative
24	24	expenses as authorized under Subsection (g).
25	25	(c) The department shall establish specific criteria for a
26	26	state agency to receive a grant from the fund under this section.
27	27	(d) The department shall award grants under this section to
28	28	state agencies that submit proposals resulting in:
29	29	(1) the greatest improvement in efficiency to the
30	30	state agency's contact center; or
31	31	(2) increased service delivery to the public.
32	32	(e) The department shall prioritize grant awards for state
33	33	agency proposals providing an immediate, quantifiable benefit to
34	34	service delivery to the public measured by whether the proposal:
35	35	(1) reduces the time a state agency takes to
36	36	communicate information;
37	37	(2) streamlines and reduces the administrative burden
38	38	to processing requests; and
39	39	(3) achieves cost savings for the public.
40	40	(f) The department shall require a state agency awarded a
41	41	grant under this section to pay a portion of the total cost of
42	42	implementing the state agency's proposal.
43	43	(g) A state agency, including the department, that incurs
44	44	administrative expenses in the implementation of a remediation plan
45	45	under Section 2054.137 may receive compensation for those expenses
46	46	from the technology innovation fund.
47	47	(h) The department shall adopt rules necessary to implement
48	48	this section.
49	49	SECTION 2. Subchapter F, Chapter 2054, Government Code, is
50	50	amended by adding Section 2054.137 to read as follows:
51	51	Sec. 2054.137. CONTACT CENTERS. (a) The department shall
52	52	by rule define "contact center." In defining the term, the
53	53	department shall consider:
54	54	(1) services provided by a state agency through a
55	55	contact center and whether the state agency provides those services
56	56	through state employees or contracted vendors;
57	57	(2) the establishment of a threshold for call volume
58	58	to determine whether a state agency is providing contact center
59	59	services; and
60	60	(3) the use of innovative technologies to assist in
61	61	customer interactions, including e-mail, callback technology, live
62	62	Internet chat, and virtual assistant or conversational assistant
63	63	technology.
64	64	(b) Not later than December 1 of each even-numbered year, a
65	65	state agency that provides contact center services shall report on
66	66	the performance of the contact center to the department. The
67	67	department may require the report to include:
68	68	(1) service level;
69	69	(2) wait time;
70	70	(3) abandonment rate;
71	71	(4) accuracy of call forecasting;
72	72	(5) call duration;
73	73	(6) call wrap-up time;
74	74	(7) employee attrition; and
75	75	(8) any other performance measures as determined by
76	76	the department.
77	77	(c) The department by rule shall establish minimum
78	78	standards for performance of a state agency's contact center.
79	79	(d) A state agency that fails to meet the standards adopted
80	80	under Subsection (c) for the agency's most recent reporting period
81	81	shall, in coordination with the department or a vendor with whom the
82	82	department contracts, establish a remediation plan to improve
83	83	contact center performance. The remediation plan must:
84	84	(1) be based on best practices for contact center
85	85	design and management;
86	86	(2) include potential solutions to address
87	87	inefficiencies in the use of personnel and technology; and
88	88	(3) include an estimated timeline to remediate the
89	89	identified concerns.
90	90	(e) A state agency that provides contact center services and
91	91	does not properly track hold times or other performance measures as
92	92	required by the department shall establish a remediation plan in
93	93	accordance with Subsection (d).
94	94	(f) The department shall determine the frequency with which
95	95	a state agency with habitually poor contact center performance must
96	96	establish a remediation plan.
97	97	(g) The department, in coordination with each state agency
98	98	that establishes a remediation plan under this section, shall
99	99	submit a report to the legislature that includes the
100	100	accomplishments in state agencies' implementations of remediation
101	101	plans and additional steps to achieve performance targets related
102	102	to contact center performance.
103	103	SECTION 3. Not later than December 1, 2019, the Department
104	104	of Information Resources shall by rule define "contact center" as
105	105	required by Section 2054.137, Government Code, as added by this
106	106	Act.
107	107	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.