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The funding reflects the agency’s third-ranked exceptional item request for consolidation and modernization of its core business application for licensing, known as BRIDGE.
The system, used daily, is key to the licensing and regulation functions of TDA and received $1 million in the last biennium to “assess, map and document” the system and related applications. The $6 million will enable the agency to move forward on the consolidation and modernization.
The agency has “selected a plan — to leverage the existing marketplace for licensing/regulatory software-as-a-service,” the request says. A new SaaS system will have:
- Security management
- A mainstream licensing/regulatory software
- Modern business intelligence
- Expanded customer self-service features
- A well-trained vendor team
- Vendor data center
According to the state budget documents sent to the governor, additional technology money for the upcoming biennium includes:
- Computer equipment and software: $382,500 in 2024 and $380,000 in 2025
- Data center consolidation: $35,000 each year
- Data center services: $1.1 million each year
The agency’s overall budget is set to be $816.7 million in 2024 and $817.3 million in 2025, according to the General Appropriations Act.
The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts (CPA) this month sent the act to the governor to sign. The $321.3 billion budget was passed at the end of the 88th Legislature’s convening in May.
