Committee debate over county data formats turns on software functionality and proprietary concerns; bill fails after amendment
House Bill 1884, which would require counties and their third‑party providers to make bulk public records available in commonly used file formats, drew contested testimony from vendors and tech firms over whether the measure would force disclosure of proprietary functionality. The committee adopted an amendment but ultimately did not pass the bill.
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House Bill 18 84 was presented by Senator Dismain as a measure to create "uniformity and fairness" in county public‑record requests by simplifying the formats in which counties provide data and requiring third‑party providers to tell counties which export formats are available. The sponsor said the goal is to ensure public data are provided in usable file formats (for example, CSV, Excel) and to clarify that software providers need not create new storage formats on request.
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