MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

1997 Regular Session

To: Appropriations

By: Representative Taylor

House Bill 178

AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR STRATEGIC PLANNING IN THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI; TO CREATE THE STATE POLICY COMMITTEE AND SET FORTH ITS MEMBERSHIP AND RESPONSIBILITIES; TO CREATE FIVE STRATEGIC PLANNING SUBCOMMITTEES AND SET FORTH THEIR MEMBERSHIP AND RESPONSIBILITIES; TO CREATE THE STATE GOVERNMENT INFRASTRUCTURE WORKING GROUP AND SET FORTH ITS MEMBERSHIP AND RESPONSIBILITIES; TO REQUIRE THAT REPORTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF SUCH NEW ENTITIES BE CONSIDERED BY THE GOVERNOR AND THE JOINT LEGISLATIVE BUDGET COMMITTEE IN THEIR RESPECTIVE BUDGET PROCESSES; TO REQUIRE ALL STATE AGENCIES AND INSTITUTIONS TO FILE ANNUAL REPORTS OF THEIR NON-GENERAL FUND REVENUES WITH THE GOVERNOR'S BUDGET OFFICE AND THE JOINT LEGISLATIVE BUDGET OFFICE; TO PROVIDE THAT A CERTAIN PERCENTAGE OF STATE AGENCIES' LAPSED GENERAL FUND MONIES SHALL BE TRANSFERRED INTO SUCH AGENCIES' CURRENT BUDGETS AND THAT THE AGENCIES' BUDGETS SHALL BE ESCALATED BY THOSE AMOUNTS; TO REQUIRE THAT SUCH ESCALATED FUNDS SHALL BE USED ONLY FOR CERTAIN EXPENDITURES DETERMINED TO IMPROVE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF SUCH AGENCIES; TO AMEND SECTIONS 27-103-203, 27-104-19 AND 27-104-21, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY THERETO; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 

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

SECTION 1. It is the intent of the Mississippi State Legislature in enacting this act to:

(a) Create a dynamic, multi-year process of governance which administers from the perspective that government is a continuum and not a series of discrete periods;

(b) Establish ongoing priorities, visions and missions for Mississippi State Government, both for policies and programs, to better survive exogenous shocks to state government and changes in political leadership;

(c) Define and articulate the state's selected strategic goals;

(d) Use such goals to develop measurable outcome benchmarks for attaining the state's strategic priorities;

(e) Provide policymakers specific benchmarks and encourage them to plan ahead in their recommendations of resource allocations and to empower program administrators to do likewise;

(f) Increase useful, results-oriented communication between policymakers, agencies and program administrators;

(g) Consider how to target resources and assign performance measures across agency lines and into the future, when addressing the strategic functions of government; and

(h) Link the strategic planning process to the budget process and combine the budget process with policy and program accountability.

SECTION 2. (1) The State Policy Committee is created, to be composed of the following members: The Governor, who shall be the chairman of the committee, the Lieutenant Governor, who shall be the vice chairman of the committee, the Attorney General, the State Auditor, the State Treasurer, the State Insurance Commissioner, the Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce, the Secretary of State, the Speaker of the Mississippi House of Representatives, the President Pro Tempore of the Mississippi State Senate, the Speaker Pro Tempore of the Mississippi House of Representatives, the President of the Mississippi Economic Council, the President of the Mississippi Municipal Association and the President of the Mississippi Association of Supervisors.

(2) The State Policy Committee shall:

(a) Meet at least once per calendar quarter;

(b) Satisfy a quorum when a majority of the members are in attendance;

(c) Comply with the state's public records laws;

(d) Comply with the state's open meetings laws;

(e) Provide for travel expense and per diem compensation as authorized by law;

(f) Provide each member with a vote and conduct business by action of a majority of members present and voting; and

(g) Designate staff of the State Auditor's office who will work under the direction of the State Policy Committee to perform analyses regarding the policy development process of the committee.

(3) The State Policy Committee responsibilities shall include at least the following:

(a) Analyze and project at least five (5) years into the future the forces shaping the state:

(i) External environment: Trends (e.g., social, demographic, economic, technological), clients, customers, competitors and collaborators;

(ii) Internal environment: Resources (e.g., work force), information technology capacities, strategies (overall and agency/program specific), policy and program performance measures (overall and agency/program specific);

(iii) Mandates: Federal, judicial, legislative and any other; and

(iv) Other areas as needed.

(b) Provide an integrated picture of state government's current cash, revenue, expenditure and total long-term debt position (which includes breakdowns of debt and debt service in effect and debt which has been authorized but has not been effectuated) and prepare projections of both for at least five (5) years into the future, thereby ensuring the state's long-term focus and direction.

(c) Define and articulate several specific strategic policy goals and accompany them with quantified, annual, outcome-oriented benchmarks, thereby establishing state policies.

(d) Recommend the allocation of resources (both operating and capital) to meet these priority policies.

(e) Review annually policy and program goals and performance toward goals described in paragraph (c).

(f) Provide a mechanism for public and private sector collaboration and the state's adoption of innovative and creative management practices.

(g) Prepare an annual written report compiling all of its analyses and recommendations, which shall be forwarded to the members of the Legislature, the Strategic Planning Subcommittees and all state agencies and institutions no later than August 1 of each year.

(4) Reports from the State Policy Committee shall receive explicit consideration by both the Governor and the Joint Legislative Budget Committee in their respective budget processes and recommendations. These reports shall provide specific direction to the Strategic Planning Subcommittees. Further, a summary of the committee's report shall be produced and be made available to the media and the public. Such summaries shall be included in both the Governor's and the Legislature's budget recommendation documents.

SECTION 3. (1) The purpose of the Strategic Planning Subcommittees created in this section is to bring together individuals with varied perspectives, issues of interest and alternatives for action. The subcommittees will increase the flow of useful strategic (five (5) to ten (10) years) information between each subcommittee, the State Policy Committee, the State Government Infrastructure Working Group and all state agencies and institutions.

Within the context of the directions reported by the State Policy Committee, each subcommittee shall have at least the following responsibilities:

(a) Understand the strategic policy and program contexts of their substantive areas and recognize important events and trends which present opportunities or impediments to the State Policy Committee's agenda;

(b) Identify other strategic policy/program problems and opportunities, particularly across agency lines and over time, and make recommendations thereon;

(c) Recommend topics for further study or consideration;

(d) Analyze opportunities for a more effective, efficient and competitive delivery of state programs and services. Such opportunities should avail the state to maintain comparable quality, effectiveness and quality at lower cost;

(e) Find and analyze impediments to program and service delivery;

(f) Propose remedies, including where appropriate, changes to rules or regulations and drafts for statutory or constitutional amendments;

(g) Consider resource constraints and barriers affecting state agencies and institutions;

(h) Recommend outcome measures while considering actions (including resource allocations, both operating and capital) necessary to activate the State Policy Committee recommendations;

(i) Identify which state agencies and institutions can best implement the state's policies; and

(j) Compile such information into written reports. On or before June 1 of each year, such written reports shall be compiled and presented to the State Policy Committee. Copies of such reports shall be forwarded to the Legislature and all state agencies and institutions and be made available to the public and the media. Reports from the Strategic Planning Subcommittees shall receive explicit consideration by both the Governor and the Joint Legislative Budget Committee in their respective budget processes and recommendations. Such reports shall be used to give additional direction to the State Government Infrastructure Working Group.

(2) Each Strategic Planning Subcommittee shall:

(a) Meet at least once per month;

(b) Satisfy a quorum when a majority of the members are in attendance;

(c) Comply with the state's public records laws;

(d) Comply with the state's open meetings laws;

(e) Provide for travel expenses and per diem compensation as authorized by law;

(f) Provide each member with a vote and conduct business by action of a majority of the members present and voting; and

(g) Designate staff of the State Auditor's Office who will work under the direction of the Strategic Planning Subcommittees to perform analyses regarding the policy development processes of the subcommittees.

(3) The Strategic Planning Subcommittee on Economic Development is hereby created, to be composed of the following members:

(a) Two (2) members of the State Policy Committee to be designated by the Governor, who shall serve as chair and vice chair of the subcommittee on an annual, rotating basis;

(b) Two (2) nongovernment individuals to be appointed by the Governor;

(c) Two (2) nongovernment individuals to be appointed by the Lieutenant Governor;

(d) Two (2) nongovernment individuals to be appointed by the Speaker of the Mississippi House of Representatives;

(e) Two (2) members of the Mississippi Work Force Council as selected by the council;

(f) The chairs of legislative committees with responsibilities in the areas of economic development as designated by the Lieutenant Governor and the Speaker; and

(g) The Executive Director of the State Department of Economic and Community Development.

(4) The Strategic Planning Subcommittee on Education is hereby created, to be composed of the following members:

(a) Two (2) members of the State Policy Committee to be designated by the Governor, who shall serve as chair and vice chair of the subcommittee on an annual, rotating basis;

(b) Two (2) nongovernment individuals to be appointed by the Governor;

(c) Two (2) nongovernment individuals to be appointed by the Lieutenant Governor;

(d) Two (2) nongovernment individuals to be appointed by the Speaker of the Mississippi House of Representatives;

(e) Chairs of legislative committees with responsibilities in the areas of education as designated by the Lieutenant Governor and the Speaker;

(f) The Executive Director of the State Board for Community and Junior Colleges;

(g) The Commissioner of the Institutions for Higher Learning; and

(h) The State Superintendent of Education.

(5) The Strategic Planning Subcommittee on Health and Human Services is hereby created, to be composed of the following members:

(a) Two (2) members of the State Policy Committee to be designated by the Governor, who shall serve as chair and vice chair of the subcommittee on an annual, rotating basis;

(b) Two (2) nongovernment individuals to be appointed by the Governor;

(c) Two (2) nongovernment individuals to be appointed by the Lieutenant Governor;

(d) Two (2) nongovernment individuals to be appointed by the Speaker of the Mississippi House of Representatives;

(e) The chairs of legislative committees with responsibilities in the areas of health and human services as designated by the Lieutenant Governor and the Speaker;

(f) The Executive Director of the Department of Human Services;

(g) The Executive Director of the Division of Medicaid;

(h) The State Health Officer;

(i) The Executive Director of the Department of Mental Health; and

(j) The Director of the State Employee Health Plan.

(6) The Strategic Planning Subcommittee on Public Safety is hereby created, to be composed of the following members:

(a) Two (2) members of the State Policy Committee to be designated by the Governor, who shall serve as chair and vice chair of the subcommittee on an annual, rotating basis;

(b) Two (2) nongovernment individuals to be appointed by the Governor;

(c) Two (2) nongovernment individuals to be appointed by the Lieutenant Governor;

(d) Two (2) nongovernment individuals to be appointed by the Speaker of the Mississippi House of Representatives;

(e) The chairs of legislative committees with responsibilities in the areas of public safety as designated by the Lieutenant Governor and the Speaker; and

(f) The Commissioner of the Department of Public Safety.

(7) The Strategic Planning Subcommittee on Regulatory Policy is hereby created, to be composed of the following members:

(a) Two (2) members of the State Policy Committee to be designated by the Governor, who shall serve as chair and vice chair of the subcommittee on an annual, rotating basis;

(b) Two (2) nongovernment individuals to be appointed by the Governor;

(c) Two (2) nongovernment individuals to be appointed by the Lieutenant Governor;

(d) Two (2) nongovernment individuals to be appointed by the Speaker of the Mississippi House of Representatives;

(e) The chairs of legislative committees with responsibilities in the areas of regulatory policy as designated by the Lieutenant Governor and the Speaker;

(f) Two (2) directors of regulatory agencies to be appointed by the Governor;

(g) Two (2) directors of regulatory agencies to be appointed by the Lieutenant Governor;

(h) Two (2) directors of regulatory agencies to be appointed by the Speaker.

SECTION 4. (1) The State Government Infrastructure Working Group is created, to be composed of the following members: The State Auditor, the Chair of the House Appropriations Committee, the Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, the Director of the Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review Committee, the Director of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee, the Executive Director of the Department of Information Technology Services, the State Personnel Officer, and the Director of the Governor's Budget Office.

(2) The State Government Infrastructure Working Group shall:

(a) Meet at least once per month;

(b) Satisfy a quorum when a majority of the members are in attendance;

(c) Comply with the state's public records laws;

(d) Comply with the state's open meetings laws;

(e) Provide for travel expenses per diem compensation as authorized by law;

(f) Provide each member with a vote and conduct busienss by action of a majority of members present and voting rules; and

(g) Designate staff of the State Auditor's office who will under the direction of the State Government Infrastructure Working Group to perform analyses regarding the policy development process of the group.

(3) Within the context of the directions articulated by the State Policy Committee and the Strategic Planning Subcommittees, this working group shall have at least the following responsibilities:

(a) Focus on consolidating programs across agency lines, reducing duplication of policies/programs/systems, and identifying policy/program/system gaps;

(b) Recommend opportunities to coordinate and/or consolidate activities and programs, particularly when personnel, systems, assets and/or funding could be shared or leveraged;

(c) Recommend opportunities to redirect existing personnel, systems, assets and/or funding before adding additional such resources;

(d) Help state agencies and institutions prepare distinct mission statements, performance measures and budget requests;

(e) Collaborate on auditing policy and program performance;

(f) Any other responsibilities assigned by either the State Policy Committee or the Strategic Planning Subcommittees;

(g) Analyze opportunities for a more effective, efficient and competitive delivery of state programs and services. Such opportunities should avail the state to maintain comparable quality, effectiveness and quality at lower cost;

(h) Find and analyze impediments to program and service delivery; and

(i) Propose remedies, including where appropriate, changes to rules or regulations and drafts for statutory or constitutional amendments.

(4) The State Government Infrastructure Working Group shall compile such information into written reports. On or before July 1 of each year, such reports shall be presented to the State Policy Committee. Copies of such reports shall be forwarded to the Legislature and all agencies and institutions, and be made available to the public and the media. Reports from the group shall receive explicit consideration by both the Governor and the Joint Legislative Budget Committee in their respective budget processes and recommendations. Such reports shall be used to give additional direction to the State Policy Committee and the Strategic Planning Subcommittees.

SECTION 5. All agencies and institutions shall file annual reports of their non-General Fund revenues with both the Governor's Budget Office and the Legislative Budget Office. Such reports shall include, but shall not be limited to, in the discretion of such two (2) budget offices:

(a) The authority for assessing the revenue;

(b) The year in which the revenue source began and the history of changes to the assessment;

(c) The service or program that the revenue supports;

(d) The appropriateness of such revenue to the service or program it supports;

(e) The amount of general funds, if any, necessary to augment such special revenues for the provision of current service levels; and

(f) Any other information deemed pertinent by the budget offices.

The budget offices jointly shall compile and analyze such agency and institution reports and make joint recommendations based on such analyses and present the findings to the State Policy Committee on or before June 30 of each year.

SECTION 6. At the end of each fiscal year, the Department of Finance and Administration shall determine for each state agency and institution the amount of state general funds that each entity will lapse. The department shall then transfer twenty percent (20%) of those funds into the respective entity's current year budget, and the Department of Finance and Administration shall escalate such entity's budget by that amount. Such agencies and institutions may expend those escalated funds within the current fiscal year only on one-time, nonrecurring expenditures, which are determined by the Department of Finance and Administration to improve the effectiveness of that agency or institution. Methods to determine such improvements to effectiveness shall include, but not be limited to, cost benefit ratios, measures of reduction to program costs and/or improvements to service delivery. Copies of such determinations and expenditures shall be forwarded to the Governor's Budget Office and the Legislative Budget Office.

SECTION 7. Section 27-103-203, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

27-103-203. (1) There is created in the State Treasury a special fund, separate and apart from any other fund, to be designated the Working Cash-Stabilization Reserve Fund, into which shall be deposited one hundred percent (100%) of that portion of the unencumbered General Fund cash balance that exceeds Six Million Dollars ($6,000,000.00) at the close of the fiscal year ending June 30, 1992, and one hundred percent (100%) of the unencumbered General Fund cash balance at the close of each succeeding fiscal year until such time as the balance in the fund reaches Forty Million Dollars ($40,000,000.00). After the balance in the fund reaches Forty Million Dollars ($40,000,000.00), fifty percent (50%) of the unencumbered General Fund cash balance at the close of each fiscal year, not to exceed seven and one-half percent (7-1/2%) of the General Fund appropriations for such fiscal year, shall be deposited into the fund. The remainder of the year-end unencumbered cash after transfer to the Working Cash-Stabilization Reserve Fund shall remain in the General Fund; provided, however, that in the event that the balance of the Working Cash-Stabilization Reserve Fund reaches seven and one-half percent (7-1/2%) of the General Fund appropriations for the fiscal year, fifty percent (50%) of the unencumbered cash balance shall be transferred into the Education Enhancement Fund. Unencumbered cash in the General Fund may be used for new year cash flow needs and may also be used for deficit appropriations or regular appropriations.

(2) The Working Cash-Stabilization Reserve Fund shall not be considered as a surplus or available funds when adopting a balanced budget as required by law. The State Treasurer shall invest all sums in the Working Cash-Stabilization Reserve Fund not needed for the purposes provided for in this section in certificates of deposit, repurchase agreements and other securities as authorized in Sections 27-105-33(d) or 7-9-103, Mississippi Code of 1972, as the State Treasurer may determine to yield the highest market rate available. The interest earned on such sums shall be deposited in the fund until the balance of principal and interest therein reaches seven and one-half percent (7-1/2%) of the total General Fund appropriations for the current fiscal year, and all interest earned in excess of amounts necessary to maintain the seven and one-half percent (7-1/2%) fund balance requirement shall be deposited by the State Treasurer into the State General Fund.

(3) The Working Cash-Stabilization Reserve Fund, except for Four Million Dollars ($4,000,000.00), shall be used by the State Treasurer for cash flow needs throughout the year when the Executive Director of the Department of Finance and Administration certifies that in his opinion there will be cash flow deficiencies in the State General Fund. No borrowing of monies from other special funds for such purposes as authorized by Section 31-17-101 et seq., Mississippi Code of 1972, shall be made as long as an unencumbered balance in excess of Four Million Dollars ($4,000,000.00) remains in the fund. The State Treasurer shall reimburse the fund for all sums borrowed for such purposes from General Fund revenues collected during the fiscal year in which such funds are used. The State Treasurer shall immediately notify the Legislative Budget Office and the State Department of Finance and Administration of each transfer into and out of such fund. Four Million Dollars ($4,000,000.00) in the Working Cash-Stabilization Reserve Fund shall remain available for use pursuant to Section 27-103-81, Mississippi Code of 1972.

(4) The Working Cash-Stabilization Reserve Fund, except for Forty Million Dollars ($40,000,000.00), shall also be used for the purpose of covering any projected deficits that may occur in the General Fund at the end of a fiscal year as a result of revenue shortfalls. In the event the Governor determines that a deficit in revenues from all sources may occur, it shall be the duty of the Executive Director of the Department of Finance and Administration to transfer such funds as necessary to the General Fund to alleviate the deficit in accordance with Sections 27-104-13 and 31-17-123; however, not more than Fifty Million Dollars ($50,000,000.00) may be transferred from the fund for such purpose in any one (1) fiscal year. In the event it becomes necessary to apply a part of the fund to this purpose, the amount so applied shall be restored to the Working Cash-Stabilization Reserve Fund out of future annual surpluses, as provided in subsection (1) of this section, until the seven and one-half percent (7-1/2%) maximum is again attained.

(5) The Working Cash-Stabilization Reserve Fund also shall be used to provide funds for the Disaster Assistance Trust Fund when such funds are immediately needed to provide for disaster assistance under Sections 33-15-301 through 33-15-317. Any transfer of funds from the Working Cash-Stabilization Reserve Fund to the Disaster Assistance Trust Fund shall be made in accordance with the provisions of subsection (5) of Section 33-15-307.

(6) The Department of Finance and Administration shall immediately send notice of any transfers made, or other action taken under authority of this section, to the Legislative Budget Office.

(7) Except as otherwise provided in Section 6 of this act, funds deposited in the Working Cash-Stabilization Reserve Fund shall be used only for the purposes specified in this section and as long as the provisions of this section remain in effect, no other expenditure, appropriation or transfer of funds in the Working Cash-Stabilization Reserve Fund shall be made except by act of the Legislature making specific reference to the Working Cash-Stabilization Reserve Fund as the source of such funds.

SECTION 8. Section 27-104-19, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

27-104-19. Except as otherwise provided in Section 6 of this act, when an operating budget has been approved, the amount approved shall be available and shall constitute the maximum of obligations or indebtedness which may be incurred by the agency for any purpose during the allotment period to be paid from such funds.

SECTION 9. Section 27-104-21, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

27-104-21. (1) All general and special fund agencies shall, upon making application for federal funds, forward a summary of such applications to the Legislative Budget Office. The Legislative Budget Office shall have an opportunity to review such applications and make its comments thereon to the Executive Director of the Department of Finance and Administration and the state agency making application. Unless otherwise specified in the appropriation bill, the Executive Director of the Department of Finance and Administration shall have the authority to approve escalations in a budget using one hundred percent (100%) federal money. New employee positions funded one hundred percent (100%) by or from federal funds may be authorized by the Executive Director of the Department of Finance and Administration subject to the rules and regulations of the State Personnel Board. No federal funds may be expended for programs or activities other than those which have been authorized by act of the Legislature or which are encompassed by a state agency's program structure as provided by law. The Executive Director of the Department of Finance and Administration shall immediately send notice of the approval of such budget escalation to the Legislative Budget Office. The Executive Director of the Department of Finance and Administration shall ensure that the Legislative Budget Office receives timely, detailed and accurate information about the amount and use of federal funds by state agencies.

(2) The Department of Finance and Administration shall require, by rule and regulation, that each agency receiving federal funds shall apply for federal reimbursement for state central services costs in accordance with Office of Management and Budget Circular A-21 or A-87, which reimbursement shall be deposited directly into the Statewide Cost Allocation Fund, which is hereby established within the State Treasury. An agency's failure to timely apply for such reimbursement shall be condition sufficient to authorize the Department of Finance and Administration to transfer an amount equal to not less than fifty percent (50%) nor more than one hundred percent (100%) of the total amount designated to such agency in the applicable fixed cost agreement of the state central service cost allocation plan. These funds shall be transferred from any available funds within such agency into the Statewide Cost Allocation Fund upon execution of a requisition for issuance of warrant by the Executive Director of the Department of Finance and Administration. Any funds on hand in said Statewide Cost Allocation Fund at the end of the fiscal year shall lapse into the State General Fund.

(3) The Department of Finance and Administration shall have the authority to approve escalations in a state agency's budget pursuant to Section 6 of this act.

SECTION 10. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 1997.