Agriculture Department LAR Includes Legacy System Modernization Funding

The Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) is requesting about $2 million for consolidation and modernization of legacy systems in its 2028-29 Legislative Appropriations Request (LAR), with additional technology funding tied to computer equipment and software replacement.

The legacy modernization item appears in the agency’s baseline capital budget request under information resources. TDA lists about $2 million in Fiscal Year 2028 and no funding for the item in FY 2029.

The LAR also includes about $763,000 for computer equipment and software across the biennium, with about $383,000 requested in FY 2028 and $380,000 in FY 2029. The agency says the funding would allow it to replace aging hardware in accordance with the Department of Information Resources (DIR) equipment lifecycle.

TDA says the equipment project supports hardware and software replacement at its Austin headquarters and regional facilities. The agency says the replacements are intended to preserve efficiency and security through technology updates.

The department also requests about $71,000 across the biennium for data center consolidation, with about $35,000 requested in each fiscal year. The LAR says TDA uses the bulk print and mail services portion of the state data center services contract.

A separate data center services entry shows no requested funding for 2028-29. The LAR says TDA received budget authority for the project in the 2024-25 and 2026-27 biennia to use DIR data center services, but DIR and TDA were unable to enter into a contract because the agency was unwilling to waive its exemption to the requirement to contract with DIR.

TDA says it has already lapsed the FY 2026 budget for that project and intends to lapse the FY 2027 budget as well. The agency says the project is not being requested for 2028-29.

The agency’s information resources strategy covers acquisition, development, installation and support of TDA’s IT infrastructure, including cybersecurity. The LAR says the strategy includes hardware and software support, network equipment, data and voice telecommunications infrastructure, internal software and related IT services.

For vendors, the main technology signals are funding for legacy system modernization, hardware and software replacement and limited data center consolidation services. The request does not identify a technology exceptional item or a broad new IT modernization initiative.

The requests are not solicitations and do not guarantee appropriations. They outline TDA’s technology-related funding priorities before the 2027 legislative session and will be considered through the state budget process.