Distribution of surplus computer equipment after January 1, 2002

1. (1) During the months of January and August, the Secretary of State will determine if any computer equipment is available to eligible counties.
2. (2) During the months of June and December, the Secretary of State will identify which counties, with a population of 60,000 or less based on the 2000 United States Census figures, may have insufficient resources to acquire the new technology that is required for counties to comply with §18.063 of the Texas Election Code. The Secretary of State will use the following formula to identify these potential counties, which is based on the most recent data available from the Comptroller of Public Accounts for a county's property and sales tax (if applicable) worth for the same calendar year, and the total number of registered voters most recently compiled by the Secretary of State. The formula for disbursement of surplus computer equipment is: County Property Sales Tax Estimated Amount Collected + County Sales Tax Actual Amount Collected (if applicable) ( Number of County's Registered Voters = Tax Collected per Voter )

3. (3) Once a county has been identified, and the number of computers available for disbursement has been ascertained, the Secretary of State will inform during the months of January and August, the eligible counties and the amount of computer equipment available and how to submit a request for the computer equipment. The county's request has to be completed and sworn by the county judge in order for the county to be considered for receipt of the surplus computer equipment. The county judge will swear in an affidavit that:

   1. (A) the county does not have the necessary resources to comply with the provisions of §18.063 of the Texas Election Code;
   2. (B) the county will need this computer equipment to comply with this section;
   3. (C) the county has the minimum resources necessary to support this computer equipment; and
   4. (D) the county will bear the cost of transporting this computer equipment if request is approved.
4. (4) The county must submit their affidavit to the Secretary of State by the 20th day after the date of the request.
5. (5) The Secretary of State will review the completed affidavits, and will notify the counties who have qualified to receive surplus computer equipment by the 5th after the completed request has been received by the Secretary.
6. (6) Any surplus computer equipment not requested by an eligible county identified pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2) of this section will lapse back to the Secretary of State's general inventory of computer equipment.
7. (7) Surplus computer equipment will be available for disbursement to the counties during the months of February and September pursuant to this Subchapter of the Texas Administrative Code and the applicable provisions of the Texas Election Code. As sworn to in the request completed pursuant to paragraph (2) of this section, the counties are responsible for the expense of having the computer equipment transported to them. If a county has not accepted delivery of their allocated computer equipment within 60 days of notification by the Secretary of State, the computer equipment will lapse back to the Secretary of State's general inventory of computer equipment.
8. (8) Secretary of State's computer equipment provided to approved counties pursuant to paragraph (4) of this section will be "as is." The Secretary of State will not provide any technical support, repair services, operating systems or software for this computer equipment.
9. (9) There is no appeal process for this section.

Source Note:The provisions of this §81.10 adopted to be effective February 17, 2002, 27 TexReg 905.