[{"_1":2,"_112":-5,"_113":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88,100],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6235146,"mediaKeyId","3406771-d43666ada0698472a1ee3f02eaa97dbb","parentId",3406771,"title","Committee substitute for HB 1500 would extend and reshape DIR, tighten cybersecurity requirements and add procurement supports","audioSeconds",404,"startMs",551000,"endMs",955000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3406771-d43666ada0698472a1ee3f02eaa97dbb&start=551&end=955","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3406771-d43666ada0698472a1ee3f02eaa97dbb/thumbnail_551000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6235146/Texas/Committee-substitute-for-HB-1500-would-extend-and-reshape-DIR-tighten-cybersecurity-requirements-and-add-procurement-supports","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6235146-387f12fd5b89a72293a7483bafe54156/orig.mp4?Expires=1770523159&Signature=CYe23zTuwQZxUBi~gp1ijanT81n77MOP2PUh1oy2rKIJYmTNNuazcxge0oIwi6AiNr7MCsKhLVgG3N2X~R5H85uwSsEL5Mgt20VfMe2ovFDlQOB2a5DT6RHSBP15-GGQdB43sEdVxpAU-sYEV4CE1dt97bzLSmImC7ImbU0k-mNPkDnkp2ViRthERlOeVP2c-9U9mX8scOXpoPfNyOoW6CvuD~8SMJySw59CGmOxnKzpaqvzNpC--PUHrGqVavbsewvgnjHAZltPRQrL1C6vDDoMfwQ8PPr1pmHoxrXh1wsqw2NLGqyudvfNqXFr1ruUqTb5x3K5rvTDixRw5GK4Ew__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Texas Legislature","date","2025-05-20T00:00:00Z","article","Senators reviewed a committee substitute to House Bill 1500, the Sunset-related bill for the Department of Information Resources (DIR), that would continue DIR for 12 years and layer several structural, cybersecurity and procurement changes into statute.

Sponsor Senator Parker said the substitute responds to the Sunset Advisory Commission's recommendations and “continues DIR for 12 years through September first of 2037,” restructures the governing board to add nonvoting customer representatives, abolishes two outdated statutory advisory committees and directs DIR to reestablish advisory groups focused on cybersecurity and shared services. Parker said the substitute also clarifies that higher-education institutions are excluded from certain state agency seats on the board because they already have a dedicated representative.

On cybersecurity, the substitute would require every state agency to obtain a DIR-selected information security assessment and a penetration test at least once every two years, and it would streamline cybersecurity reporting to reduce redundancy and clarify deadlines. Parker said DIR would “evaluate a sample of agencies' information resources deployment review responses for accuracy” and would develop additional procurement trainings and launch a procurement-as-a-service pilot to help agencies with complex technology contracts.

The bill also would transfer the eGrants program from DIR to the Comptroller of Public Accounts, update archaic telecommunications language (removing references to payphones and yellow pages) and modernize statistical and compliance provisions in standard sunset language. Sponsor and witnesses praised Sunset staff and DIR for their work during review; Rahul Srinivasan of Texas 2036, testifying in support, said the reforms “strengthen DIR's role in cybersecurity readiness and response” and applauded the procurement training provisions.

Committee members asked questions but recorded no final action; the committee closed public testimony and left HB 1500 pending for further consideration.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Senate Committee on Business and Commerce May 20, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","A committee substitute to House Bill 1500 would continue the Department of Information Resources for 12 years, reorganize board membership and impose new cybersecurity assessment and penetration-test requirements for state agencies.","taxTitle","Committee on Business & Commerce, Senate, Legislative, Texas","taxId",16850,"location","Texas","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6235149,"Senate committee hears debate on bill to create Texas Cyber Command at UTSA amid security, governance and procurement concerns",6397,968000,7365000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3406771-d43666ada0698472a1ee3f02eaa97dbb&start=968&end=7365","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3406771-d43666ada0698472a1ee3f02eaa97dbb/thumbnail_968000.jpg","/articles/6235149/Texas/Senate-committee-hears-debate-on-bill-to-create-Texas-Cyber-Command-at-UTSA-amid-security-governance-and-procurement-concerns","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6235149-ffb20442af6ce3b5614326e4bb0c2665/orig.mp4?Expires=1770523159&Signature=NRR31Qj~3L4T7lLZ7ekuR2GtG9NkLxUNnn38mhFE2bgqflGRaMzwb1OHIrTEd7bWR8IcR-zk1ZmpYkojSVdPc3Mrh6bsrpgt5er7Ggtg2WwP0zJDgnLy0zG25PnCvCueMvKMpP6jXiQU6JnNXEVwnk8QuB4R~pg~FYQ5NzL3VpKBMCuQrPxlxrNHkCpMO9nTK~28xUWM9VmNsZTlbTLcn7q6ZVSRDEC2cD1Ll3cbAcky4trbMieA3jtH8OUf9ntMo4i4GwS4yLh477eZHi6PkpMFTbL2wgVYTWiwvrjobiBr-Uf8JQmtc3U3O1MFMOjU9gzwu-gbXyUh~hhhfk371w__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Senators heard more than three hours of testimony and questions on House Bill 150, a proposal to create a Texas Cyber Command that would assume the state's cyber responsibilities now housed in the Department of Information Resources and be administratively attached to the University of Texas System, with an initial operational home at the UT San Antonio downtown cyber campus.

The bill would create a governor-appointed, senate-confirmed chief to run the command and transfer “every cyber related power, rule, form, contract, and full time employee from DIR to the command on a date certain no later than December 30, 2026,” with a memorandum of understanding required by Jan. 1, 2026, to govern the transition, sponsor Senator Parker said. Parker said the command “stands up that force by creating the Texas scribe command” and located it in San Antonio to plug into an existing federal and private cyber ecosystem.

Supporters — including representatives from cybersecurity firms, industry groups and the proposed host institution — argued the command will centralize threat intelligence, provide a 24/7 hotline for local governments, stage incident-response “go kits,” and operate a digital forensics lab to assist law enforcement. David Brown, executive director of the National Security Collaboration Center at UTSA, said the downtown building being considered has stratified security spaces, including a SCIF, and could host an initial wave of personnel. Security industry witnesses described widespread scanning and attacks against Texas networks and urged a unified, mission-focused organization to respond more quickly.

Opponents and cautious members of the committee raised governance and oversight issues. Several senators asked why the command would be administratively attached to UTSA rather than created as an independent state agency or kept inside DIR. Senator King said she was “very uncomfortable with turning it over to a university system” given recent state concern about university governance. Others pressed how the command would report to the legislature, how appropriations would be organized, and whether placing the entity within the UT system would create an extra layer of separation between elected officials and operational control.

Lawmakers also questioned the bill's procurement and emergency powers. The draft grants the command broad emergency purchasing authorities and exemptions from certain procurement statutes; senators asked whether those authorities could be used to purchase services or equipment outside standard competitive processes and whether ransom payments could be covered. Parker told the committee he did not intend for the command to pay ransoms and said he would support guardrails in an amendment, but offered that incident response requires operational flexibility.

Several members pressed the bill's provisions on accepting gifts, grants and donations from private entities. Senator Johnson said the language “smells grift and corruption” and Parker agreed to work on an amendment to tighten or remove that authority. The sponsor also proposed limiting private funding to clearly defined and transparent forms of support and agreed to amendments removing problematic boilerplate.

Security, access and campus integration drew repeated questions. Senators asked how students, faculty and private-sector partners would be screened for access to the secure floors and SCIF space; David Brown and UTSA witnesses said classified facilities would be accredited and that students would not have unescorted access to classified areas. Parker and witnesses emphasized the building is downtown and not part of a typical campus quad; Dean and resource witnesses described the surrounding federal presence and existing security posture as reasons to locate there.

On operational details, Parker said the command would perform three core missions: a cyber threat intelligence center to distribute alerts; an incident response unit modeled on emergency-response “go kits” to deploy equipment and personnel; and a digital forensics lab to support attribution and law enforcement prosecutions. Local governments would be able to “opt in” to services; mandatory baseline threat intelligence and an annual training course would be free, while premium services would be offered on a cost-recovery basis, Parker said.

The committee recorded no final vote on the bill. After resource witnesses and a broad public-comment record that included firm leaders, trade groups, and national-security practitioners, the chair closed testimony and left House Bill 150 pending.

The committee's debate highlighted competing priorities: speed and operational capability versus long-term governance, procurement safeguards and university affiliation. Several senators asked for follow-up briefings and amendments to tighten procurement and gift language, clarify reporting and sunset triggers, and specify the bill's bill pattern and budget placement before advancing the proposal.","Lawmakers and witnesses debated House Bill 150, a proposal to create a state cyber command administratively attached to the University of Texas System and housed at UTSA, with questions about governance, transfer of DIR functions, emergency purchasing powers, donation limits and campus security.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6235136,"Panel considers bill to bar insurance contract language from blocking legally required cybersecurity breach notices",288,4802000,5090000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3406771-d43666ada0698472a1ee3f02eaa97dbb&start=4802&end=5090","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3406771-d43666ada0698472a1ee3f02eaa97dbb/thumbnail_4802000.jpg","/articles/6235136/Texas/Panel-considers-bill-to-bar-insurance-contract-language-from-blocking-legally-required-cybersecurity-breach-notices","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6235136-3c7117cdd1d8e712e0aecd6ab604b45c/orig.mp4?Expires=1770523159&Signature=ljSbTrcv2ZguYeRXwtQrvWG8Dbm2SAPDprN8-Ye~8o1qzVbDYBkGDbMmRYD~e6RqtUanjg~FFO6F1bFWtej3k9bbzF-995fRMm4CzXMwBfpKcFZJTqLbi6cE8rT1juRSJBZg7AkaWBjXawfzCAuYC1sxiCGEf3L1COJ92mFytwil1fj4W1U1ensTkFZulbrFNgbUbiaO0dtySjTOTU7aAGlnalX5X3yiu4NsS59sQM2t1fLL5pheMoiMNShemrLTRDIvOMG23vwr6v0iOu28BVT63bqDe1ArUWoY0GjdXUYUK2bGrjPDr~SJ6YFo5Vla-BqeneVSE9lRSIAnfzgmjg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Senators reviewed House Bill 5331, a measure to ensure that insurance contract clauses do not prevent governmental entities from complying with legally required notifications after a cybersecurity breach. The bill's sponsor, Senator King, told the committee that some local governments reported policy language in cyber insurance contracts that prevents them from fulfilling notification obligations required under current law.

53 31 (committee substitute returned to filed version) would nullify any contract language that prohibits agencies and local governments from providing legally required notices about breaches. The bill clarifies that an insurance policy cannot override state law on notification obligations.

The committee substitute returned the text to the filed version because a house floor amendment addressed an unrelated topic already enacted. After sponsor remarks the panel opened and closed public testimony with no additional witnesses and left HB 5331 pending.","House Bill 5331 would render unenforceable any contract clause that prevents a state agency or local government from making statutorily required breach notifications; the committee returned the bill to its filed form and left it pending after a brief presentation.",{"_33":101,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":102,"_41":103,"_43":104,"_45":105,"_47":106,"_49":107,"_51":108,"_53":109,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":110,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":111,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6235141,"Bill would create AI division inside DIR to use generative AI for legacy modernization; committee leaves bill pending",185,4671000,4856000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3406771-d43666ada0698472a1ee3f02eaa97dbb&start=4671&end=4856","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3406771-d43666ada0698472a1ee3f02eaa97dbb/thumbnail_4671000.jpg","/articles/6235141/Texas/Bill-would-create-AI-division-inside-DIR-to-use-generative-AI-for-legacy-modernization-committee-leaves-bill-pending","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6235141-88011c4789f5be354d1b13447bdd5a8a/orig.mp4?Expires=1770523159&Signature=pASJuXHUP-iA54EEY9uki02UuiZN3YBVLxnjIpvnXQqxCttHXlku6gkiuraNtvJBfD~9~NAOTiEL9BkhvlkiRlxVqc79IVALj0E9x8UZ6aujdreCl7joRJDnFe1Zm7RhG4u1M7OwmcTlVKSNRgL9zRrfU4PIrNCvIMM7gYKZFeUen1WTCtRIvUZpxFoqTi9a13E9AHhoUY1o9K2qPjMrx~bmZkU4JRQJeTIwsbcEDiWjRhbMVe9tcB8ZzNCD9lGjBavsea4ZFQ7Vysrv4YyTVN5E3HgeDqqI1zbQtbLW8waF76hoSf~qOV9~D3hD2HRHP4RiKtlFOOzqWSPj0MXs-w__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Senators considered a committee substitute to House Bill 2818 that would establish an artificial-intelligence division within the Department of Information Resources to support state agencies in using generative AI for legacy modernization and other projects.

Sponsor Senator Parker described the substitute as enabling “efficient use of resources” by requiring DIR to coordinate implementation and information sharing, allow the division to use AI tools procured or developed by the department or to contract with external vendors (provided an AI solution performs a majority of the work), and require a project-level cost analysis explaining time and money saved by AI versus traditional methods.

The division would select projects it believes are suitable for AI-assisted modernization; not every agency project would be shifted to the new division. Parker said the measure aims to accelerate modernization and reduce cost. The chair opened the hearing for public testimony, received comments from a DIR resource witness and closed the testimony; the committee left HB 2818 pending for additional work on implementation and oversight language.","A committee substitute to House Bill 2818 would establish an artificial intelligence division at the Department of Information Resources to pilot and oversee agency uses of generative AI for legacy modernization, require cost-analysis reporting for projects, and permit DIR to use procured or contracted AI solutions.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Committee substitute for HB 1500 would extend and reshape DIR, tighten cybersecurity requirements and add procurement supports

Senate committee hears debate on bill to create Texas Cyber Command at UTSA amid security, governance and procurement concerns

Panel considers bill to bar insurance contract language from blocking legally required cybersecurity breach notices

Bill would create AI division inside DIR to use generative AI for legacy modernization; committee leaves bill pending