Every state is going to have their own requirements. Some intentionally different, others unintentionally different. I can totally get on board with mandated open-source software for governments, but the reason the federal government doesn't just make the software is because most of the contracts involve support and training services. You can't rust government employees to do things for themselves now, come on. (=
Think of government as your grandparents. You can give them the best computer and software, but odds are they'll still call you in the middle of the work day to ask questions you don't really have time to answer. This is why Accenture and other big shops get big government contracts. At some point, it's easier to just send Geek Squad to your grandparent's house... knowing full well that they'll get upsold on crap they don't need, and charged more than they should... it's still easier than having to deal with teaching your grandparents not to write their passwords on PostIts they leave next to the computer.
Think of government as your grandparents. You can give them the best computer and software, but odds are they'll still call you in the middle of the work day to ask questions you don't really have time to answer. This is why Accenture and other big shops get big government contracts. At some point, it's easier to just send Geek Squad to your grandparent's house... knowing full well that they'll get upsold on crap they don't need, and charged more than they should... it's still easier than having to deal with teaching your grandparents not to write their passwords on PostIts they leave next to the computer.