H-3434

AN ACT Relating to accountability in state government; amending RCW 43.09.050, 44.28.085, 43.88.010, 43.88.020, and 43.88.090; amending 1987 c 480 s 1 (uncodified); amending 1987 c 480 s 3 (uncodified); adding a new section to chapter 43.06 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 43.88 RCW; adding a new chapter to Title 43 RCW; creating a new section; repealing 1991 c 53 s 1 (uncodified); and repealing 1987 c 480 s 6 (uncodified).

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that demand is growing for a new level of accountability in government. The public is asking its government whether desired results are actually accomplished, not just what volume of services is provided. Taxpayers want to know what value they are receiving for their money. Policymakers need more accurate information for setting policy and allocating scarce resources. Agency directors need better information on whether new and existing programs are effective. Mid-level managers must be able to determine how efficiently they administer programs. Front-line employees must be given the necessary data and opportunity to suggest creative ways to improve program operations.

The legislature finds that state government needs an integrated, comprehensive accountability system that incorporates an ongoing cycle of policy planning, quality management, and program evaluation. The legislature further finds that establishing an integrated accountability system requires direct involvement and commitment from the public, the legislature, the governor, the office of financial management, and state agencies.

Establishing an integrated accountability system is a long-term process that will require a sustained effort.

Sec. 2. 1987 c 480 s 1 (uncodified) is amended to read as follows:

(1) There is hereby created a ((~~temporary~~)) commission to be known as the Washington state commission for efficiency and accountability in government, hereafter referred to as the commission.

(2) The commission shall consist of ((~~fourteen~~)) fifteen members as follows:

(a) ((~~Six~~)) Four members appointed by the governor including but not limited to representatives from private sector business and industry, labor unions, and public interest organizations;

(b) ((~~Three~~)) Two members appointed jointly by the president of the senate and speaker of the house ((~~including but not limited to representatives~~)) from private sector business and industry, labor unions, ((~~and~~)) or public interest organizations;

(c) One representative from each of the four legislative caucuses to be appointed by the president of the senate and the speaker of the house; ((~~and~~))

(d) The state auditor or the state auditor's designee;

(e) The chair of the legislative budget committee, or the chair's designee;

(f) The director of the office of financial management, or the director's designee;

(g) One member appointed for a one-year term from one of the following agencies: The office of the superintendent of public instruction, the office of the higher education coordinating board, the department of natural resources, and the department of transportation. The responsibility to appoint a member to the commission shall rotate on a yearly basis among these four agencies, beginning with the office of the superintendent of public instruction. Appointments shall be made by the respective agency heads of these agencies; and

(h) The governor shall be a member and the chair of the commission.

The vice‑chair shall be selected by the commission.

(3) Nonlegislative members shall be reimbursed for travel expenses for attending meetings of the commission as provided for in RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060. Legislative members shall be reimbursed for travel expenses for attending meetings of the commission as provided for in RCW 44.04.120.

Sec. 3. 1987 c 480 s 3 (uncodified) is amended to read as follows:

To carry out the provisions of section 2, chapter 480, Laws of 1987 (RCW 43.--.---) as codified pursuant to section 5 of this act, the commission shall:

(1) ((~~Prepare a list of~~)) Identify selected programs funded by the state that will be subject to review by the commission((~~. The list shall include~~)) including programs that have a major fiscal impact on the state and where the commission determines that operational and organizational improvements are feasible. The reviews shall concentrate on identifying improvements that will result in increased program efficiency and effectiveness and reduced costs, greater accountability to the general public, increased information and data relative to governmental expenditures, and increased managerial competence and workforce productivity.

(2) ((Develop a four‑year plan for the orderly review of each program identified under subsection (1) of this section. The plan shall contain a timetable for the completion of each program review and an estimate of the resources needed to carry out the reviews. The plan shall be updated annually.

~~(3) Secure private sector financial and other support for the conduct of the reviews.~~

~~(4)~~)) Establish the scope of program reviews, select review teams and direct those teams to conduct the program reviews identified by the commission. The review teams shall report to the commission their findings and recommendations for organizational and operational improvements.

((~~(5)~~)) (3) Decide upon recommendations for executive action or legislation necessary to implement the operational or organizational improvements developed by program review teams.

((~~(6) Submit the following reports to the legislature:~~

~~(a) By December 31, 1987, a four‑year plan required by subsection (2) of this section;~~

~~(b)~~)) (4) Provide to the legislature, upon completion of each program review, its recommendations for operational and organizational improvements for the program reviewed. The report shall include estimates of savings which may result from recommended legislative or executive action.

(((c) By December 31, 1988, a report summarizing recommendations of the commission for legislative and executive actions to accomplish operational and organizational improvements identified in completed program reviews and any executive action initiated as a result of findings of a program review. Thereafter,)) The commission shall report to the legislature annually, no later than December 31, on its progress ((~~toward completing the four‑year review plan~~)) and on its recommendations for operational and organizational improvements in state government.

(5) Facilitate and coordinate the development of a state-wide program evaluation system. Toward this end, the commission shall at a minimum:

(a) Provide technical assistance to agencies in initiating, conducting, and using the results of evaluations to improve program efficiency and effectiveness;

(b) Share evaluation information and results;

(d) Develop suggested guidelines for conducting program evaluations;

(e) Assist in developing training programs in evaluation methodologies for state employees;

(f) Work toward establishing a common basic set of data elements that describe key aspects of program implementation, program interventions, and outcomes;

(g) Establish a clearinghouse for program evaluation results and information from other states and the federal government;

(h) Develop standards of evaluation practice and evaluation tools that support four broad categories of public accountability: (i) Compliance with the law in the use of resources; (ii) efficiency in the use of resources; (iii) effectiveness in meeting program goals and objectives; and (iv) appropriateness of program activity in fulfilling the identified public need; and

(i) Develop a state "report card" on program effectiveness in relation to the outcomes agreed upon in the strategic planning process. The commission shall present this report card to the governor and to the legislature each biennium, beginning in January, 1997.

(6) Provide a biennial report to the governor and to the legislature on the adoption and success of management practices in state government that improve productivity. The commission shall provide its first report by January, 1993.

(7) Develop a plan for internal and external auditing of agencies' operational performances in meeting established goals and objectives.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. The following acts or parts of acts are each repealed:

(1) 1991 c 53 s 1 (uncodified); and

(2) 1987 c 480 s 6 (uncodified).

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. Sections 1 through 3 of this act and sections 2, 4, and 5, chapter 480, Laws of 1987 shall constitute a new chapter in Title 43 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. A new section is added to chapter 43.06 RCW to read as follows:

(1) The governor shall prepare a plan for the establishment of a strategic planning process for many of the key functional areas of state government. The key functional areas that must be accounted for in the governor's strategic planning process are general government, health and human services, community and economic development, and the environment. The commissioner of public lands shall prepare a similar plan for the key functional area of natural resources; the transportation commission, for the key functional area of transportation; the superintendent of public instruction, for the key functional area of K-12 education; and the higher education coordinating board, for the key functional area of higher education. Each of the strategic planning processes must include (a) the establishment of goals and objectives for the biennium and for a six-year planning cycle, and (b) the development of measures or indicators of the outcomes desired based on the identified goals and objectives, for each key functional area of state government. These executives shall begin implementation of their strategic planning processes in July 1993, with specific goals and objectives for each functional area to be adopted by January 1995. These executives shall report to the legislature on the status of their strategic planning processes in January 1994.

(2) By January 1, 1994, the governor shall develop a plan for adoption of management practices that improve productivity. The governor shall report to the legislature on the status of this plan by January 1994.

(3) By January 1, 1994, the governor shall develop a restructuring plan for state government that will facilitate strategic planning and a state-wide program evaluation system. The governor shall report to the legislature on the status of this report by January 1994.

Sec. 7. RCW 43.09.050 and 1979 c 151 s 91 are each amended to read as follows:

The auditor shall:

(1) Except as otherwise specifically provided by law, audit the accounts of all collectors of the revenue and other holders of public money required by law to pay the same into the treasury;

(2) In his or her discretion, inspect the books of any person charged with the receipt, safekeeping, and disbursement of public moneys;

(3) Inform the attorney general in writing of the necessity for ((~~him~~)) the attorney general to direct prosecutions in the name of the state for all official delinquencies in relation to the assessment, collection, and payment of the revenue, against all persons who, by any means, become possessed of public money or property, and fail to pay over or deliver the same, and against all debtors of the state;

(4) Give information in writing to the legislature, whenever required, upon any subject relating to the financial affairs of the state, or touching any duties of his or her office;

(5) Report to the director of financial management in writing the names of all persons who have received any moneys belonging to the state, and have not accounted therefor;

(6) Authenticate with his or her official seal papers issued from his or her office;

(7) Make his or her official report annually on or before the 31st of December((.));

(8) Conduct performance evaluations of state agency programs according to the plan developed by the commission for efficiency and accountability in government as required by RCW 43.--.--- (section 3 of this act).

Sec. 8. RCW 44.28.085 and 1975 1st ex.s. c 293 s 15 are each amended to read as follows:

The legislative budget committee shall make management surveys and program reviews as to every public body, officer or employee subject to the provisions of RCW 43.09.290 through 43.09.340. The legislative budget committee may also make management surveys and program reviews of local school districts, intermediate school districts, and other units of local government receiving state funds as grants-in-aid or as shared revenues. Management surveys for the purposes of this section shall be an independent examination for the purpose of providing the legislature with an evaluation and report of the manner in which any public agency, officer, administrator, or employee has discharged the responsibility to faithfully, efficiently, and effectively administer any legislative purpose of the state. Program reviews for the purpose of this section shall be an examination of state or local government programs to ascertain whether or not such programs continue to serve their intended purposes, are conducted in an efficient and effective manner, or require modification or elimination: PROVIDED, That nothing in this section shall limit the power or duty of the state auditor to report to the legislature as directed by subsection (3) of RCW 43.88.160 ((~~as now or hereafter amended. The authority in this section conferred excludes a like authority in the state auditor~~)).

The legislative budget committee shall receive a copy of each report of examination issued by the state auditor under RCW 43.09.310, shall review all such reports, and shall make such recommendations to the legislature and to the state auditor as it deems appropriate.

Sec. 9. RCW 43.88.010 and 1986 c 215 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

It is the purpose of this chapter to establish an effective state budgeting, accounting, and reporting system for all activities of the state government, including both capital and operating expenditures and state program effectiveness; to prescribe the powers and duties of the governor as these relate to securing such ((~~fiscal~~)) controls as will promote effective program and budget administration; and to prescribe the responsibilities of agencies of the executive branch of the state government.

It is the intent of the legislature that the powers conferred by this chapter, as amended, shall be exercised by the executive in cooperation with the legislature and its standing, special, and interim committees in its status as a separate and coequal branch of state government.

Sec. 10. RCW 43.88.020 and 1991 c 358 s 6 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) "Budget" means a proposed plan of expenditures for a given period or purpose and the proposed means for financing these expenditures.

(2) "Budget document" means a formal, written statement offered by the governor to the legislature, as provided in RCW 43.88.030.

(3) "Director of financial management" means the official appointed by the governor to serve at the governor's pleasure and to whom the governor may delegate necessary authority to carry out the governor's duties as provided in this chapter. The director of financial management shall be head of the office of financial management which shall be in the office of the governor.

(4) "Agency" means and includes every state office, officer, each institution, whether educational, correctional or other, and every department, division, board and commission, except as otherwise provided in this chapter.

(5) "Public funds", for purposes of this chapter, means all moneys, including cash, checks, bills, notes, drafts, stocks, and bonds, whether held in trust, for operating purposes, or for capital purposes, and collected or disbursed under law, whether or not such funds are otherwise subject to legislative appropriation, including funds maintained outside the state treasury.

(6) "Regulations" means the policies, standards, and requirements, stated in writing, designed to carry out the purposes of this chapter, as issued by the governor or the governor's designated agent, and which shall have the force and effect of law.

(7) "Ensuing biennium" means the fiscal biennium beginning on July 1st of the same year in which a regular session of the legislature is held during an odd-numbered year pursuant to Article II, section 12 of the Constitution and which biennium next succeeds the current biennium.

(8) "Dedicated fund" means a fund in the state treasury, or a separate account or fund in the general fund in the state treasury, that by law is dedicated, appropriated or set aside for a limited object or purpose; but "dedicated fund" does not include a revolving fund or a trust fund.

(9) "Revolving fund" means a fund in the state treasury, established by law, from which is paid the cost of goods or services furnished to or by a state agency, and which is replenished through charges made for such goods or services or through transfers from other accounts or funds.

(10) "Trust fund" means a fund in the state treasury in which designated persons or classes of persons have a vested beneficial interest or equitable ownership, or which was created or established by a gift, grant, contribution, devise, or bequest that limits the use of the fund to designated objects or purposes.

(11) "Administrative expenses" means expenditures for: (a) Salaries, wages, and related costs of personnel and (b) operations and maintenance including but not limited to costs of supplies, materials, services, and equipment.

(12) "Fiscal year" means the year beginning July 1st and ending the following June 30th.

(13) "Lapse" means the termination of authority to expend an appropriation.

(14) "Legislative fiscal committees" means the legislative budget committee, the legislative evaluation and accountability program committee, the ways and means committees of the senate and house of representatives, and, where appropriate, the legislative transportation committee.

(15) "Fiscal period" means the period for which an appropriation is made as specified within the act making the appropriation.

(16) "Primary budget driver" means the primary determinant of a budget level, other than a price variable, which causes or is associated with the major expenditure of an agency or budget unit within an agency, such as a caseload, enrollment, workload, or population statistic.

(17) "Stabilization account" means the budget stabilization account created under RCW 43.88.525 as an account in the general fund of the state treasury.

(18) "State tax revenue limit" means the limitation created by chapter 43.135 RCW.

(19) "General state revenues" means the revenues defined by Article VIII, section 1(c) of the state Constitution.

(20) "Annual growth rate in real personal income" means the estimated percentage growth in personal income for the state during the current fiscal year, expressed in constant value dollars, as published by the office of financial management or its successor agency.

(21) "Estimated revenues" means estimates of revenue in the most recent official economic and revenue forecast prepared under RCW 82.33.020, and prepared by the office of financial management for those funds, accounts, and sources for which the office of the economic and revenue forecast council does not prepare an official forecast including estimates of revenues to support financial plans under RCW 44.40.070, that are prepared by the office of financial management in consultation with the interagency task force.

(22) "Estimated receipts" means the estimated receipt of cash in the most recent official economic and revenue forecast prepared under RCW 82.33.020, and prepared by the office of financial management for those funds, accounts, and sources for which the office of the economic and revenue forecast council does not prepare an official forecast.

(23) "State budgeting, accounting, and reporting system" means a system that gathers, maintains, and communicates fiscal and program performance information. The system links fiscal and performance information beginning with development of agency budget requests through adoption of legislative appropriations to tracking actual receipts ((~~and~~)), expenditures, and performance against approved plans.

(24) "Allotment of appropriation" means the agency's statement of proposed expenditures, the director of financial management's review of that statement, and the placement of the approved statement into the state budgeting, accounting, and reporting system.

(25) "Statement of proposed expenditures" means a plan prepared by each agency that breaks each appropriation out into monthly detail representing the best estimate of how the appropriation will be expended.

(26) "Undesignated fund balance (or deficit)" means unreserved and undesignated current assets or other resources available for expenditure over and above any current liabilities which are expected to be incurred by the close of the fiscal period.

Sec. 11. RCW 43.88.090 and 1989 c 273 s 26 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) For purposes of developing budget proposals to the legislature, the governor shall have the power, and it shall be the governor's duty, to require from proper agency officials such detailed estimates and other information in such form and at such times as the governor shall direct. The estimates for the legislature and the judiciary shall be transmitted to the governor and shall be included in the budget without revision. The estimates for state pension contributions shall be based on the rates provided in chapter 41.45 RCW. Copies of all such estimates shall be transmitted to the standing committees on ways and means of the house and senate at the same time as they are filed with the governor and the office of financial management.

(2) ((Estimates from each agency shall include goals and objectives for each program administered by the agency. The goals and objectives shall, whenever possible, be stated in terms of objective measurable results.)) Each state agency shall establish goals and objectives, and develop measures or indicators of the outcomes desired based on these goals, for each major program in its budget. In establishing such goals and measures, each agency shall:

(a) Develop general measures for describing (i) outputs, or organizational effort and activities, (ii) interventions or services, and (iii) desired results or outcomes regarding each major program;

(b) Express such measures or indicators in an objective, quantifiable, and measurable form unless permitted by the office of financial management to adopt a different standard; and

(c) Compare results against goals and desired outcomes, in the context of cost, to suggest progress in goal achievement and trends in costs per units of effort, interventions, or outcomes.

The estimates shall include statements or tables which indicate, by agency, the state funds which are required for the receipt of federal matching revenues. The estimates shall be revised as necessary to reflect legislative enactments and adopted appropriations and shall be included with the initial biennial allotment submitted under RCW 43.88.110.

(3) In the year of the gubernatorial election, the governor shall invite the governor-elect or the governor-elect's designee to attend all hearings provided in RCW 43.88.100; and the governor shall furnish the governor-elect or the governor-elect's designee with such information as will enable the governor-elect or the governor-elect's designee to gain an understanding of the state's budget requirements. The governor-elect or the governor-elect's designee may ask such questions during the hearings and require such information as the governor-elect or the governor-elect's designee deems necessary and may make recommendations in connection with any item of the budget which, with the governor-elect's reasons therefor, shall be presented to the legislature in writing with the budget document. Copies of all such estimates and other required information shall also be submitted to the standing committees on ways and means of the house and senate.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. A new section is added to chapter 43.88 RCW to read as follows:

It shall not be in order for either house of the legislature to consider any bill or amendment that provides for the authorization of appropriation of funds unless the bill or amendment specifies goals or objectives, and desired outcomes, for the appropriation.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 13. This act may be known and cited as the government accountability act of 1992.