(a) In this section, “state agency” does not include an institution of higher education, as defined by § 61.003, Education Code.
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (d) and to the extent possible using available resources, each state agency that has 1,500 or more employees shall post on the agency’s intranet website or generally accessible Internet website an electronic form or link allowing an employee of the agency to submit suggestions and ideas on how to make the agency more cost-efficient. The system for submitting suggestions and ideas must allow an employee to elect to submit a suggestion or idea that includes the employee’s name or to submit an anonymous suggestion or idea. If an employee elects to submit anonymously, the suggestion or idea may not be traceable to the employee and the system for anonymous submission may not record data linking the suggestion or idea to the computer used for the submission.

(c) Except as provided by Subsection (d), each state agency that posts a form or link as provided by Subsection (b) shall post on the agency’s generally accessible Internet website a link allowing members of the public to:
(1) monitor, in real time or on a weekly, monthly, or quarterly basis, submissions made under Subsection (b); and
(2) vote for the public’s favorite submission.
(d) The department may exclude from the requirements of this section a state agency if the agency has a preexisting program or link that the department determines substantially meets the requirements of this section.
(e) The department shall adopt rules establishing procedures and required formats for implementing this section. The rules adopted under this subsection must require that submissions under Subsection (b) and votes under Subsection (c) be moderated to exclude overtly political or offensive material.