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DPS selects vendor for statewide records portal; rules cleared for Texas Register
Summary
The Texas Department of Public Safety announced System Technologies as the selected vendor for the PrimeLoc discovery portal; administrative rules for the portal were approved and will be published for comment, and a $500,000 budget rider for local lab modernization was reported in legislative materials.
The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) told the commission that System Technologies, a Texas-based firm, has been selected as the portal vendor to implement the statutorily required discovery portal (PrimeLoc) that will allow authorized criminal-defense counsel, prosecutors and labs to share and retrieve forensic records.
Kevin Callahan, records portal program supervisor at DPS, briefed the commission on the contract award and outreach plans. He said the Public Safety Commission voted to advance the administrative rules and that the rules will be sent to the Texas Register for public comment following the usual administrative process. DPS has established outreach to prosecutors and defense organizations and is using surveys and focus groups to gather requirements and test features during development.
DPS plans to integrate the portal with existing laboratory records-management systems rather than act as the primary file repository; records remain on laboratory systems and the portal will provide authorized access and discovery workflows. DPS said the vendor kickoff has occurred and that a public-facing PrimeLoc page with newsletters and status updates is available via the department website.
The DPS update also noted that the legislative budget process includes a rider that would make $500,000 available for local (city and county) laboratories to modernize records systems to comply with portal requirements; DPS said distribution details remain to be determined and likely would be administered through a state grant process.
DPS requested ongoing collaboration with prosecutors, defense organizations and labs to develop user workflows and said it will publish administrative-rule materials and continue stakeholder engagement as the vendor builds the portal.
