1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to state government; encouraging state
1.3 	agencies to use open-source software; proposing coding
1.4 	for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 16C.
1.5 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.6 	Section 1. [16C.115] SOFTWARE PURCHASES.
1.7 		Subdivision 1.Standards. The commissioner and any other
1.8 	agency purchasing software shall:
1.9 	(1) consider purchasing open-source software products in
1.10 	addition to considering proprietary software products;
1.11 	(2) when purchasing proprietary software, promptly report
1.12 	to the legislature on the reason for doing this rather than
1.13 	purchasing open-source software;
1.14 	(3) avoid purchasing products that do not comply with open
1.15 	standards for interoperability or data storage; and 
1.16 	(4) avoid purchasing products that are known to make
1.17 	unauthorized transfers of information to, or permit unauthorized
1.18 	control of or modification to, agency computer systems by
1.19 	persons outside agencies.
1.20 		Subd. 2.Definitions. (a) As used in this section,
1.21 	"open-source software" means software that guarantees the user,
1.22 	without further cost:
1.23 	(1) unrestricted use of the software for any purpose;
1.24 	(2) unrestricted access to the source code;
1.25 	(3) full inspection of the working mechanisms of the
2.1 	software;
2.2 	(4) the use of the internal mechanisms and arbitrary
2.3 	portions of the software, so they can be adapted to the needs of
2.4 	the users;
2.5 	(5) the freedom to make and distribute copies of the
2.6 	software; and 
2.7 	(6) the ability to modify the software and freedom to
2.8 	distribute modifications of the new resulting software, under
2.9 	the same license as the original software.
2.10 	(b) As used in this section, "open standards" means
2.11 	specifications for the encoding and transfer of computer data
2.12 	that:
2.13 	(1) are available for all to read and implement;
2.14 	(2) do not lock the user into a particular vendor or group;
2.15 	(3) are free to implement with no royalty or fee except for
2.16 	a fee or fees required by the standards organization for
2.17 	certification of compliance;
2.18 	(4) do not favor one implementer over another for any
2.19 	reason other than the technical standards compliance of an
2.20 	implementation; and 
2.21 	(5) do not prohibit the implementation of extensions, but
2.22 	may employ license terms that prevent subversion of the standard
2.23 	through predatory practices.
2.24 	(c) As used in this section, "proprietary software" means
2.25 	software that does not meet the definition of open-source
2.26 	software.