(a) Applicability. All users and developers of geographic datasets and geographic information systems in state agencies must comply with the technical standards specified in this section. Activities conducted by a registered professional land surveyor while engaged in the practice of professional surveying, as defined in the Professional Land Surveying Practices Act (Texas Occupations Code, Chapter 1071) are exempt from these standards.

(b) Implementation guidance. Pursuant to Water Code §16.021(c), the GIO provides guidance to the Executive Administrator of the Texas Water Development Board and to the Department of Information Resources (the department). The guidance provided by the GIO to the department relates to technology standards developed by the department for geographic datasets pursuant to Water Code §16.021(e)(4).

(c) Geographic Information Standards.

(1) Geographic dataset acquisition and development. (A) Standard. An agency planning to acquire, develop, or enhance a geographic dataset that may correspond to an HPIDS dataset shall coordinate such activity with the GIO to determine potential use of the HPIDS master contract. (B) Procurement of public domain geographic datasets. An agency that procures a copy of a federal or other public domain geographic dataset shall make the dataset available to the Texas Natural Resources Information System (TNRIS). TNRIS will make these datasets available to other agencies, institutions of higher education, and to the public.

(2) Geographic dataset exchange: Data format. An agency that originates or adds data content to a non-proprietary geographic dataset and distributes the dataset to another state agency, institution of higher education, or the public must make the dataset available in at least one digital format that is recognized by the most commonly used geographic information systems. This requirement does not preclude the agency from offering the dataset in other data formats. The GIO provides guidance on acceptable formats for data exchange.

(3) Geographic dataset documentation. (A) Preparation. An agency shall prepare documentation for each geographic dataset that it both: (i) originates and/or adds data content to; and (ii) distributes as a standard product to another state agency, institution of higher education, or the public. (B) Statement of Purpose. Documentation must include a statement of the purpose or intended use of the dataset and a disclaimer warning against unintended uses of the dataset. If an agency is aware of specific inappropriate uses of the dataset that some users may be inclined to make, the dataset disclaimer must specifically warn against those uses. (C) Format. This documentation must be in a geospatial metadata format specified by the GIO. (D) Delivery. In responding to a request for a geographic dataset, an agency shall provide the requestor a copy of the documentation.

(4) GIS map product disclaimer. Any map product, in paper or electronic format, produced using geographic information system technology and intended for official use and/or distribution outside the agency, must include a disclaimer statement advising against inappropriate use. If the nature of the map product is such that a user could incorrectly consider it to be a survey product, the disclaimer must clearly state that the map is not a survey product.

Source Note: The provisions of this §353.103 adopted to be effective July 19, 2020, 45 TexReg 4774; amended to be effective April 26, 2023, 48 TexReg 2134