An Xmas present for you to peruse, comment, and mull..
Jeffry Smith
jsmith at alum.mit.edu
Sat Dec 25 07:16:05 EST 2010
DoD Guidance on Open Source Software:
http://cio-nii.defense.gov/sites/oss/2009OSS.pdf
DoD FAQ on Open Source Software:
http://cio-nii.defense.gov/sites/oss/Open_Source_Software_(OSS)_FAQ.htm#Frequently_Asked_Questions_regarding_Open_Source_Software_.28OSS.29_and_the_Department_of_Defense_.28DoD.29
DoD's Open Source Software site: http://cio-nii.defense.gov/sites/oss/
A few of sources to back your effort - DoD is also looking at Open
Source Software.
On Sat, Dec 25, 2010 at 7:00 AM, Seth Cohn <sethcohn at gnuhampshire.org> wrote:
> For your holiday enjoyment, and for you to think about in the next few
> days, and get back to me with feedback (pro or con), improvements, and
> other suggestions... I welcome your input, and if you'd like to speak
> at the hearing on this bill on a particular element, please let me
> know...
>
> This is one of two bills submitted for the coming year... the other is
> related to Open Government Data (google for the 8 principles) for the
> essential concept of that one.
>
> Yours,
> Rep. Seth Cohn
> Merrimack 6
> (and open source geek for far longer than I'd like to admit...)
>
>
> 2011 SESSION
>
> HOUSE BILL [bill number not yet assigned]
> AN ACT requiring state agencies to consider open source
> software when acquiring new software.
> SPONSORS: Rep. Cohn (and others to be named later...)
> COMMITTEE: [committee not yet decided...]
>
> ANALYSIS
>
> This bill requires state agencies to consider open source
> software when acquiring new software.
>
> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
> - - - - - -
> Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
>
> Matter removed from current law
> appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
>
> Matter which is either (a) all new
> or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
>
>
>
> STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
> In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Eleven
> AN ACT requiring state agencies to consider open source
> software when acquiring new software.
>
>
>
> Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
> Court convened:
>
> 1 Statement of Purpose and Findings.
>
> I. The general court finds that:
>
> (a) The cost of obtaining software for the state's
> computer systems has become a significant expense to the state;
>
> (b) The personnel costs of maintaining the software
> on the state's computers has also become a significant expense to the
> state;
>
> (c) It is necessary for the functioning of the
> state that computer data owned by the state be permanently available
> to the state throughout its useful life;
>
> (d) To guarantee the succession and permanence of
> public data, it is necessary that the state's accessibility to that
> data be independent of the goodwill of the state's computer system
> suppliers and the monopoly conditions imposed by these suppliers;
>
> (e) It is in the public interest to ensure
> interoperability of computer systems through the use of software and
> products that promote open, platform-neutral standards;
>
> (f) It is also in the public interest that the
> state be free, to the greatest extent possible, of restrictions
> imposed by parties outside the state's control on how, and for how
> long, the state may use the software it has acquired; and
>
> (g) It is not in the public interest and it is a
> violation of the fundamental right to privacy for the state to use
> software that, in addition to its stated function, also transmits data
> to, or allows control and modification of its systems by, parties
> outside of the state's control.
>
> II. The general court further finds that:
>
> (a) The acquisition and widespread deployment of
> open source software can significantly reduce the state's costs of
> obtaining and maintaining software;
>
> (b) Open source software guarantees that its
> encoding of data is not tied to a single provider;
>
> (c) Open source software ensures interoperability
> through adherence to open, platform-neutral standards;
>
> (d) Open source software contains no restrictions
> on how, or for how long, it may be used; and
>
> (e) Since open source software fully discloses its
> internal operations, it can be audited, at any time and by anyone of
> the state's choosing, for internal functions that are contrary to the
> public's interests and rights.
>
> III. Therefore, it is in the public interest that the
> state of New Hampshire consider using open source software in its
> public computing functions.
>
> 2 New Subdivision; Department of Information Technology; Open
> Source Software. Amend RSA 21-R by inserting after section 9 the
> following new subdivision:
>
> Open Source Software
>
> 21-R:10 Definitions. In this subdivision,
>
> I. "Open source software" means software that guarantees
> the user, without further cost:
>
> (a) Unrestricted use of the software for any purpose;
>
> (b) Unrestricted access to the respective source code;
>
> (c) Exhaustive inspection of the working mechanisms
> of the software;
>
> (d) Use of the internal mechanisms and arbitrary
> portions of the software, to adapt them to the needs of the user;
>
> (e) Freedom to make and distribute copies of the
> software; and
>
> (f) Modification of the software and freedom to
> distribute modifications of the new resulting software, under the same
> license as the original software.
>
> II. "Open standards" means specifications for the
> encoding and transfer of computer data that:
>
> (a) Are available for all to read and implement;
>
> (b) Do not lock the user into a particular vendor or group;
>
> (c) Are free for all to implement with no royalty
> or fee except for a fee or fees required by the standards organization
> for certification of compliance;
>
> (d) Do not favor one implementer over another for
> any reason other than the technical standards compliance of an
> implementation; and
>
> (e) Do not prohibit the implementation of
> extensions, but may employ license terms that prevent subversion of
> the standard through predatory practices.
>
> III. "Proprietary software" means software that does not
> fulfill all of the guarantees provided by open source software.
>
> IV. "State agency" means any department, commission,
> board, institution, bureau, office, or other entity, by whatever name
> called, including the legislative and judicial branches of state
> government, established in the state constitution, statutes, session
> laws, or executive orders.
>
> 21-R:11 Consideration of Open Source Software by State
> Agencies. For all new software acquisitions, each state agency, in
> consultation with the department of information technology, shall:
>
> I. Consider acquiring open source software products in
> addition to proprietary software products;
>
> II. Except as provided in paragraphs IV and V, acquire
> software products primarily on a value-for-money basis;
>
> III. Provide justification whenever a proprietary
> software product is acquired rather than open source software;
>
> IV. Avoid the acquisition of products that do not comply
> with open standards for interoperability or data storage; and
>
> V. Avoid the acquisition of products that are known to
> make unauthorized transfers of information to, or permit unauthorized
> control of or modification to state government's computer systems by,
> parties outside the control of state government.
>
> 3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
>
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