Oregon Going for ODF
A fifth state, and the fourth in just this year, joins the tidal shift: an open formats bill has been introduced in Oregon’s legislature.
Andy Updegrove writes:
“While the Oregon bill falls into a current trend, it is in some ways less similar to the bills introduced earlier this year than they are to each other. Most notably, it would establish a clear preference for open formats that are deployed in the greatest variety of programs and services that are available as “free ware,” which it defines as “computer software made available or distributed to the public for use free of charge for an unlimited time.” Through this and other provisions, it is clear that only ODF, and not OOXML, would pass muster for the foreseeable future in Oregon. The bill was introduced by State Representative Peter Buckley as House Bill 2920.
Looking first to the central definition of an “open format,” we see that the Oregon definition is more detailed than that which is found in most of the other bills. For example, while the California formulation is very high level and would provide more flexibility in interpretation, the Oregon text is more precise, and often provides examples of what would be required in order to comply with the bill.”
Oregon’s legislation is also mentioned in a Computerworld article.