Committee reports bill to block software vendor lock‑in for state and local governments

Sen. Jesse Kiel, sponsor of Senate Bill 258, told the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee that the bill would preserve state and local governments’ right to choose where and how they run software and prevent vendors from inserting contract terms that limit that choice or lock purchasers into proprietary cloud platforms. "It prevents a software company from terms and conditions in their contracts that would forbid you to run your software where and how you choose," Kiel said during the committee’s April 8 hearing.

Scott Drexel, representing the Coalition for Fair Software Licensing, testified for the bill and noted that similar measures have been enacted in multiple states; Drexel added that West Virginia passed comparable legislation last week. Committee staff identified at least six states (including Colorado, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Idaho and New Hampshire) where related laws have been enacted and noted other states are considering similar measures.

There was no public testimony on SB 258. With no objections recorded, Sen. Merrick moved to report SB 258 from committee "with individual recommendations and the attached fiscal note," and the chair announced the bill was reported from committee as moved. The committee did not record a roll‑call vote in the hearing record; the motion was made and the chair announced the committee report was filed.

The committee’s report will go with the attached fiscal note and the text as recommended by staff; further floor action will determine whether the full Senate advances the measure.