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

1.6 	Section 1. [16E.031] OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE.
1.7 	(a) To the extent practical, a state agency must provide documents accessible by 
1.8 	open source software when the documents are made available in an electronic format. 
1.9 	This requirement also applies to documents available through an agency Web site.
1.10 	(b) To the extent practical, state agency documents that are stored in an electronic 
1.11 	format must be stored in a nonproprietary format that can be accessed by open source 
1.12 	software.
1.13 	(c) For purposes of this section, "open source software" means software that: (1) 
1.14 	is free for anyone to use, without payment of a royalty or other fee; and (2) can be used 
1.15 	effectively without payment of a fee or royalty in combination with other software 
1.16 	commonly used to create, store, transmit, receive, and access data.