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List:       kde-promo
Subject:    [kde-promo] [OT] Exchange in Texas Legislature
From:       Mark Bucciarelli <mark () easymailings ! com>
Date:       2003-05-11 6:11:26
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Cut and paste from http://www.eff-austin.org/ ...

SB1579, the Texas Senate bill that encourages state agencies to 
consider Open Source software.

Even after dilution, the bill was still drawing criticism from 
proprietary software interests. Here's a great snippet from Carona's 
exchange with Mario Correa of the Business Software Alliance: 

Correa: That's no longer... that's correct. But the point that I'm 
trying to make is, essentially what you've done is to isolate one 
particular development of software for further investigation, 
assuming that there isn't something already being considered or the 
State has already undertaken. What makes our industry nervous is not 
that you study any particular type but rather that you select one 
under a presupposition of cost savings or not cost savings for that 
matter. 

Carona: Well, if you'll read the language again, we have already 
presupposed that proprietary software will exist and will be what's 
purchased. This simply says shall we consider any other alternatives? 
That means specifically... 

I don't... Again, I don't understand why you all are so threatened by 
this, but from a careful look at the lobbyists in this room that are 
representing Microsoft, and all of you here representing proprietary 
software companies which -- let's face it, that's where the big money 
is, it's not in Open Source it's in proprietary -- it's rather 
transparent as to why you all feel so threatened by this language. 
And I'll tell you, this [bill] is innocuous, but next session I'll be 
on a crusade.

Mark

P.S. It might be an interested paper to document what's going in the 
state legislatures.  I know Oregon had theirs shot down by the 
speaker of the house.  Maybe there are others.
 
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