OPEN SOURCE AND CODE REUSE POLICY INTRODUCTION - 4984

The California Department of Technology (CDT) is committed to improving the way Agencies/state entities buy, build and deliver information technology (IT) and software solutions to better support cost efficiency, effectiveness, and public experience with government programs. Enhanced reuse of custom-developed code across state government can have significant benefits for taxpayers, including decreasing duplicative costs for the same code.

To maintain previous investment(s) in IT software, Agencies/state entities shall make code custom-developed by the State of California broadly available for reuse across state government in a consistent manner. This policy is intended to avoid duplicative custom software investments and promote innovation and collaboration across state government while adequately addressing relevant statutory and policy requirements associated with State IT systems, including information security and risk management, privacy, legal issues, and other applicable requirements. The requirements outlined in this section apply to source code that is custom-developed by the State of California, subject to the limited exceptions outlined in SAM Section 4819.2.