SB 147-STATE GOVERNMENT ACTIVITIES  ANNETTE DEAL, staff for Senator Cowdery, introduced SB 147 as the State concept of federal legislation enacted in 1998. It requires a state agency to list those agency activities that are not inherently governmental on an annual basis. An inherently governmental function is defined as "a function that is so closely related to the public interest that it requires performance by a state governmental employee." First, departments identify functions that are not inherently governmental. Once the list is made, it is submitted to the Department of Administration, Office of Management and Budget (OMB). They make the list available to the public and the legislature. Interested persons are then able to challenge what is or is not on that list. The idea is to make it easier for the public to understand which functions are essential and which are not so they are better able to understand what their dollars are paying for. Step two asks for a realistic and fair cost to be attached to the performance of the activities so a private individual would have that information readily available if they wanted to consider outsourcing. In addition, "it puts the state on the right track toward government activities that we want and that we are willing to pay for. It provides the basis for long term consistent efforts towards cost-effective government." The bill has a zero fiscal note from the Department of Administration. She said that the bill is simply good management practice and good management doesn't have a cost attached. CHAIRMAN THERRIAULT asked if there are differences between the legislation this year and that introduced previously. MS. DEAL said that there were several House State Affairs committee substitutes last year that are reflected in the current legislation. Previous language referred to unions and putting work out for a public bid. Also, the university was included last year and is not in the present bill because they are working toward greater efficiency on their own. Some departments have already adopted these measures in their missions and measures by identifying time allocations toward certain projects or what is essential and what is not. Another difference this year is that inherently governmental activity means one that is required by the state constitution. MR. BRAD PIERCE, a policy analyst with the Office of Management and Budget, testified that the administration opposes the legislation on the grounds that it is unnecessary and that the resulting report would provide little useful information to the public and the legislature that is not already available. During the last three administrations, there has been an effort to reduce the number of annual reports that departments are required to produce in an effort to increase state productivity. In fact, OMB has produced a report on reports recommending those reports that may be eliminated to free employees to engage in more productive activities. This bill is headed in the opposite direction and although the fiscal note is zero, there is a cost in terms of productivity to produce the report on a yearly basis. As an example, the executive travel report costs about $15,000 per year in employee time to produce. The administration feels that the area is already well covered with the legislature's Commission on Privatization's final report in the fall of 1999. In the legislative research catalog, there are two studies identifying mandated and discretionary programs, one on the difficulty of defining basic services and a list of state programs added in the last 20 years and whether they were constitutionally or statutorily mandated. Before that, there was Governor Hickel's 1992 Organizational and Efficiency Task Force that made recommendations on privatization of services. During that administration, there was also a hotline for citizens to call in with suggestions on ways to reduce the cost of government and activities that could be privatized. The point is, the information the bill is after is already available and the functions of government do not change that much from year to year. With this in mind, the administration does not feel that the legislation is necessary but instead will be a bureaucratic burden to agencies. CHAIRMAN THERRIAULT called for questions and other testimony. SENATOR COWDERY commented that this is not a privatization bill. It is designed to identify those activities that are not inherently governmental. The previous testimony was focused to convince members that this is a privatization measure. CHAIRMAN THERRIAULT said there was no prepared CS. He asked committee members for amendments. There were none. He noted the zero fiscal note. SENATOR PHILLIPS asked Mr. Pierce about the executive travel report and whether the administration opposed preparation of the report. He believes it's a good document that the public has a right to see. ALISON ELGEE, Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Administration, testified that when the legislation was considered for the compensations and travel report, it had a $15,000 fiscal note that was unopposed by the administration. The legislature elected to pass the legislation without the money so it placed the monetary and labor burden on the Division of Finance. It is quite a lot of work to coordinate all the records from the various departments and get them into a format that can by published. CHAIRMAN THERRIAULT asked for other questions or comments. There were none. He asked for the will of the committee. SENATOR PEARCE moved SB 147 and zero fiscal note from committee with individual recommendations. There was no opposition.