68th OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--1995 Regular Session
Enrolled
Senate Bill 994
Sponsored by Senator HAMBY; Senators BRECKE, KENNEMER,
Representatives ADAMS, WOOTEN
CHAPTER ................
AN ACT
Relating to telecommunications; limiting expenditures; and
declaring an emergency.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
**************************** SECTION 1. { + The Legislative
Assembly declares it to be the policy of the State of Oregon:
(1) To use information technology in education, health care,
economic development and government services to improve economic
opportunities and quality of life for all Oregonians regardless
of location or income.
(2) To stimulate demand to encourage and enable long-term
infrastructure innovation and improvement.
(3) That telecommunications planning process shall:
(a) Organize users in new ways to aggregate demand, reduce
costs and create support networks;
(b) Encourage collaboration between communities of interest by
geographic area and economic sector; and
(c) Encourage competition among technology and service
providers. + }
**************************** SECTION 2. { + (1) The Oregon
Department of Administrative Services shall coordinate the
consolidation and operation of all telecommunications systems
used by the state and state agencies. Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, no agent or agency of the state shall
construct, purchase or otherwise gain access to a
telecommunications system without the prior approval of the
department.
(2) The department shall coordinate the consolidation and
operation of emergency telecommunications systems used by the
state and state agencies. The provisions of this section shall
not be construed to require consolidation of telecommunications
systems used by emergency service providers, as defined by the
department, into nonemergency networks. + }
**************************** SECTION 3. { + (1) As used in
this section:
(a) 'Advanced digital communications' means equipment,
facilities and capability to distribute digital communications
signals for the transmission of voice, data, image and video over
distance.
(b) 'Telecommunications provider' means any person capable of
providing advanced digital communications including, but not
limited to, a telecommunications utility as defined in ORS
759.005, a competitive telecommunications provider as defined in
ORS 759.005, a cable television provider or an interstate
telecommunications provider.
(2) Notwithstanding ORS 279.005 to 279.111 and 279.310 to
279.320, the Oregon Department of Administrative Services by
contract shall acquire advanced digital communications services
from telecommunications providers or a consortium of such
providers. Contracts under this section shall provide that all
responsibility for construction, installation, operation and
maintenance of the network shall remain with the contracting
provider.
(3) Upon installation of an advanced digital communications
network, the Oregon Department of Administrative Services shall
provide all telecommunications services and operations for the
state and its agencies. The department shall not approve the
procurement of any telecommunications system or equipment that is
incompatible with the network. + }
**************************** SECTION 4. { + The Oregon
Department of Administrative Services annually shall review, in
conjunction with each state agency, the budget of that agency to
identify agency funds to be used for travel and transportation
that may be used for telecommunications. If the department
determines that a portion of the agency travel and transportation
funds can be used more effectively through use of
telecommunications, without diminishing the affected agency's
existing internal and external communications, the department
shall make recommendations to the Emergency Board as described in
ORS 291.326 for such action as the department determines
necessary to dedicate the identified agency travel and
transportation funds for use in telecommunications. The
department shall make its recommendations to the Emergency Board
not later than January 1. + }
**************************** SECTION 5. { + For the purposes
of this Act, the Oregon Department of Administrative Services may
enter into a contract or contracts with telecommunications
service providers and equipment manufacturers for the purchase,
use or operation of telecommunications equipment and services for
a period not to exceed 10 years. + }
**************************** SECTION 6. { + (1) There is
established in the office of the Governor the Assistant to the
Governor for Telecommunications Policy who shall be appointed by
the Governor to serve at the pleasure of the Governor. The
assistant shall, with the advice of the Oregon Telecommunications
Forum Council, advise the Governor on telecommunications policy
and planning. The assistant shall be authorized to sign
nondisclosure agreements with private telecommunications goods
and services providers to protect proprietary information.
Proprietary information shall not be included in or referred to
in any reports submitted by the assistant.
(2)(a) The Assistant to the Governor for Telecommunications
Policy shall be a person with knowledge of advanced digital
communications technologies and experience working with
telecommunications service providers, planning telecommunications
services and working with diverse user groups.
(b) The Assistant to the Governor for Telecommunications Policy
shall prepare and submit a report to the Governor and appropriate
legislative committees not later than October 15, 1996. The
report shall contain the Oregon Telecommunications Forum
Council's assessment of the state of telecommunications in Oregon
in relation to the policy objectives in section 1 of this Act and
recommendations for public and private actions to carry out these
policy objectives.
Enrolled Senate Bill 994 Page 2
(3)(a) The Oregon Telecommunications Forum Council is
established. The Governor shall appoint the Oregon
Telecommunications Forum Council. The council shall be composed
of persons broadly representative of telecommunications services
providers and user groups from the public, private and nonprofit
sectors.
(b) Members of the Oregon Telecommunications Forum Council
shall serve at the pleasure of the Governor.
(4) The council shall:
(a) Establish a vision for the telecommunications
infrastructure in Oregon and develop short-term strategies and
long-term plans for achieving the vision.
(b) Establish benchmarks to monitor progress toward the goals
established in subsection (5) of this section, and report on such
benchmarks to the Oregon Progress Board.
(c) Maintain a clearinghouse of information regarding the
availability of Oregon's telecommunications infrastructure and
user support services, including maintaining an inventory of
existing networks, technologies and providers and matching
potential projects with potential sources.
(d) Encourage, facilitate and support the formation of
communities of interest in the state based on their
telecommunications needs and actively seek the input of these
communities on telecommunications needs and barriers.
(e) Encourage partnerships among public, private and nonprofit
telecommunications consumers and providers.
(f) Support and encourage education and training opportunities
relating to telecommunications.
(5) The council shall implement the provisions of subsection
(4) of this section in accordance with the policy objectives
described in section 1 of this Act and with the following goals:
(a) Ensuring that all Oregonians have affordable access to an
integrated telecommunications infrastructure that provides voice,
data and image information services.
(b) Ensuring that rural and urban Oregonians have affordable
access and adequate support to make effective use of voice, data
and image information services for meeting their economic and
quality of life aspirations.
(c) Expanding access to lifelong educational and training
opportunities so that Oregon's citizens and workforce can
function in the emerging information society.
(d) Increasing the quality of local health care available in
all areas of the state.
(e) Stimulating and supporting information-based economic
development that improves economic opportunity.
(f) Expanding citizen access to government information.
(g) Increasing the speed and quantity of business-to-business
information necessary for competition. + }
**************************** SECTION 7. { + In implementing
the provisions of this Act, the Oregon Department of
Administrative Services and the Assistant to the Governor for
Telecommunications Policy shall seek methods for using state
resources and investments to bring the benefits of advanced
telecommunications to rural communities and to increase the use
of telecommunications in commerce in the state. + }
**************************** SECTION 8. { + The Oregon
Telecommunications Forum Council established in section 6 of this
Act may accept contributions of funds and assistance from the
United States or its agencies, or from any other source, public
or private, and agree to conditions thereon not inconsistent with
Enrolled Senate Bill 994 Page 3
the purposes of the council. All such funds are to aid in
financing the functions of the council and shall be deposited in
the General Fund of the State Treasury to the credit of separate
accounts for the council and shall be disbursed for the purpose
for which contributed in the same manner as funds appropriated
for the council. + }
**************************** SECTION 9. { + Notwithstanding
any other law, the limitation on expenditures established by
section 3, chapter 232, Oregon Laws 1995 (Enrolled House Bill
5012), for the biennium beginning July 1, 1995, as the maximum
limit for the payment of expenses from fees, moneys or other
revenues, including Miscellaneous Receipts, excluding federal
funds, collected or received by the Office of the Governor, is
increased by $133,500 to carry out the provisions of this
Act. + }
**************************** SECTION 10. { + This Act being
necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace,
health and safety, an emergency is declared to exist, and this
Act takes effect July 1, 1995. + }
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Passed by Senate May 15, 1995
Repassed by Senate June 9, 1995
...........................................................
Secretary of Senate
...........................................................
President of Senate
Passed by House June 8, 1995
...........................................................
Speaker of House
Enrolled Senate Bill 994 Page 4
Received by Governor:
......M.,............., 1995
Approved:
......M.,............., 1995
...........................................................
Governor
Filed by Office of Secretary of State:
......M.,............., 1995
...........................................................
Secretary of State
Enrolled Senate Bill 994 Page 5