86R13657 AAF-D
By: Buckingham S.B. No. 1727
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to improving communication with and service delivery by
state agencies.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 2054, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 2054.069 to read as follows:
Sec. 2054.069. TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION FUND. (a) The
technology innovation fund is a special fund in the state treasury
outside the general revenue fund to be administered by the
department under this section. The fund consists of legislative
appropriations and other money transferred or credited to the fund
by the legislature.
(b) Money in the fund may be spent only to:
(1) provide grants to state agencies for improving
government communication with and service delivery to the public;
and
(2) pay the department's administrative expenses for
providing grants under Subdivision (1) and other administrative
expenses as authorized under Subsection (g).
(c) The department shall establish specific criteria for a
state agency to receive a grant from the fund under this section.
(d) The department shall award grants under this section to
state agencies that submit proposals resulting in:
(1) the greatest improvement in efficiency to the
state agency's contact center; or
(2) increased service delivery to the public.
(e) The department shall prioritize grant awards for state
agency proposals providing an immediate, quantifiable benefit to
service delivery to the public measured by whether the proposal:
(1) reduces the time a state agency takes to
communicate information;
(2) streamlines and reduces the administrative burden
to processing requests; and
(3) achieves cost savings for the public.
(f) The department shall require a state agency awarded a
grant under this section to pay a portion of the total cost of
implementing the state agency's proposal.
(g) A state agency, including the department, that incurs
administrative expenses in the implementation of a remediation plan
under Section 2054.137 may receive compensation for those expenses
from the technology innovation fund.
(h) The department shall adopt rules necessary to implement
this section.
SECTION 2. Subchapter F, Chapter 2054, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 2054.137 to read as follows:
Sec. 2054.137. CONTACT CENTERS. (a) The department shall
by rule define "contact center." In defining the term, the
department shall consider:
(1) services provided by a state agency through a
contact center and whether the state agency provides those services
through state employees or contracted vendors;
(2) the establishment of a threshold for call volume
to determine whether a state agency is providing contact center
services; and
(3) the use of innovative technologies to assist in
customer interactions, including e-mail, callback technology, live
Internet chat, and virtual assistant or conversational assistant
technology.
(b) Not later than December 1 of each even-numbered year, a
state agency that provides contact center services shall report on
the performance of the contact center to the department. The
department may require the report to include:
(1) service level;
(2) wait time;
(3) abandonment rate;
(4) accuracy of call forecasting;
(5) call duration;
(6) call wrap-up time;
(7) employee attrition; and
(8) any other performance measures as determined by
the department.
(c) The department by rule shall establish minimum
standards for performance of a state agency's contact center.
(d) A state agency that fails to meet the standards adopted
under Subsection (c) for the agency's most recent reporting period
shall, in coordination with the department or a vendor with whom the
department contracts, establish a remediation plan to improve
contact center performance. The remediation plan must:
(1) be based on best practices for contact center
design and management;
(2) include potential solutions to address
inefficiencies in the use of personnel and technology; and
(3) include an estimated timeline to remediate the
identified concerns.
(e) A state agency that provides contact center services and
does not properly track hold times or other performance measures as
required by the department shall establish a remediation plan in
accordance with Subsection (d).
(f) The department shall determine the frequency with which
a state agency with habitually poor contact center performance must
establish a remediation plan.
(g) The department, in coordination with each state agency
that establishes a remediation plan under this section, shall
submit a report to the legislature that includes the
accomplishments in state agencies' implementations of remediation
plans and additional steps to achieve performance targets related
to contact center performance.
SECTION 3. Not later than December 1, 2019, the Department
of Information Resources shall by rule define "contact center" as
required by Section 2054.137, Government Code, as added by this
Act.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.