Bill proposed to bar software contracts that force agencies into a vendor's cloud

Sen. Jesse Kiel presented Senate Bill 258 on April 29, saying the measure would prohibit software licensing provisions that force state or local governments to run purchased applications only in a vendor’s preferred cloud environment. "It should be a decision based on things like price, quality, security," Kiel said. "No vendor should have the ability to require a public entity to use exclusively their cloud environment."

Scott Drexel, testifying for the Coalition for Fair Software Licensing, told the committee the problem grew after 2019 when some cloud providers moved away from the "bring your own license" model and began including terms that effectively lock customers to a vendor's cloud. Drexel identified public funders of the coalition as Google Cloud and Amazon Web Services and said about 22 members back the group; he said Microsoft, Oracle and SAP are not coalition members.

Committee members probed fiscal and operational impacts. Rep. Colom and others asked whether the state’s current Microsoft‑heavy contracts would be affected; Kiel said the bill doesn’t prevent a state agency from choosing a single vendor if it meets requirements, and that the intent is to protect future contracts from artificial lock‑in. Committee members also asked whether the state Chief Information Officer or Department of Administration had weighed in; Kiel said he had asked the CIO but had not received an official administration position.

Drexel and others argued the bill would increase competition, reduce long‑term costs and improve cyber resilience by avoiding single‑vendor concentration. Opponents and some members worried about transition costs and whether diversity of platforms could introduce new operational or security complexities; the bill was set aside for a future date after testimony and questions.