SENATE BILL REPORT

                  SSB 6501

              As Passed Senate, February 11, 1998

Title:  An act relating to performance budgeting for transportation agencies.

Brief Description:  Requiring performance budgeting for transportation agencies.

Sponsors:  Senate Committee on Transportation (originally sponsored by Senators Horn, Haugen, Benton, Goings, Wood, Winsley and Oke).

Brief History:

Committee Activity:  Transportation:  1/28/98, 2/3/98 [DPS].

Passed Senate, 2/11/98, 48-0.

SENATE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION

Majority Report:  That Substitute Senate Bill No. 6501 be substituted therefor, and the substitute bill do pass.

  Signed by Senators Prince, Chair; Benton, Vice Chair; Wood, Vice Chair; Goings, Haugen, Heavey, Horn, Jacobsen, Oke, Patterson, Rasmussen and Sellar.

Staff:  Brad Lovaas (786-7307); Jennifer Hanlon (786-7316)

Background:  Chapter 43.88 RCW, commonly referred to as the Budget and Accounting Act, serves as the basis for state agency budget and accounting practices.  The Budget and Accounting Act requires the Director of the Office of Financial Management (OFM) to provide state agencies with budget instructions at least three months prior to submitting the agency request budget to OFM and the Legislature.

During the 1997 interim, the Budget Development Working Group addressed the use of performance budgeting by transportation agencies.  The Working Group recommended to the Legislative Transportation Committee that the committee adopt a schedule for strategic planning and the implementation of performance budgeting.

The Department of Transportation, the Department of Licensing, and the Washington State Patrol all have:  (1) strategic plans; (2) performance measures for most programs; (3) quality initiatives; and (4) legislative oversight and management reporting capabilities with the fiscal and performance monitoring system within the transportation executive information system.  With few exceptions, all the activities listed above have been required as part of budget provisos and have no statutory effect once the budget period lapses.

Summary of Bill:  The Transportation Efficiency and Accountability Act is created.  The Department of Licensing, the Department of Transportation, and the Washington State Patrol must implement a performance budgeting system that provides a link between agency objectives and the budget.

The three agencies must submit a strategic plan with their agency request budgets.  The strategic plan must include a six-year outlook, and an outline of agency goals and strategies.

The agencies develop performance indicators to measure activities in the strategic plan.  The satisfaction of the agencies' consumers must be one indicator.

The Legislative Transportation Committee, the Office of Financial Management, the transportation agencies, or any combination of these parties must conduct program authorization reviews.  The reviews involve an agency self-assessment and recommendations on whether to retain, eliminate, or modify funding and related statutory references for the agency.

The transportation agencies must designate one program during the 1999-2001 biennium to test the effectiveness of performance budgeting.  Full performance budgeting must be implemented by the 2001-2003 biennium.

Each agency must submit an activity inventory to the Legislative Transportation Committee at the end of each fiscal year.  The list must describe the functions of each program, fund sources, and full-time equivalents.

Agency budget requests must be developed at the program level, rather than the object level.  Agencies should submit their budget requests to OFM via a common budget system.  Agencies must also input their monthly financial information and quarterly program performance measurements into the transportation executive information system.

The agencies are not required to develop a new strategic plan, establish new performance measures, or management quality initiatives in place of current activities.

Appropriation:  None.

Fiscal Note:  Requested on January 26, 1998.

Effective Date:  Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.

Testimony For:  These are good theories for state government.

Testimony Against:  None.

Testified:  PRO:  Senator Jim Horn, prime sponsor; Bill Ford, WSDOT.