Democratic State Sen. Mike Beebe's Performance-Based Budgeting Pilot Program
1999

Excerpts from PA 222 of 1999

Title
A Pilot Program Of Performance-Based Program Budgeting And Strategic Planning By The Legislative Council; And For Other Purposes

Subtitle
Performance-Based Program Budgeting And Strategic Planning Pilot Program

Section 1. Definitions.

(a) "Performance-based program budget" means a budget that incorporates approved programs and performance measures.
(b) "Performance-based program appropriation" means funds appropriated for a specific set of activities or classification of expenditure and performance measures within an approved performance-based program.

Section 2. Pilot Program Authorized. On or before the date of the regular monthly meeting of the Legislative Council in June 1999 the Legislative Council, in consultation with the appropriate officials of Executive Branch, shall select programs from at least three agencies for a pilot program of performance-based program budgeting and strategic planning. At the same time the Legislative Council will select or appoint a subcommittee that will be given the responsibility for implementing the pilot program. The subcommittee shall:

(1) design and recommend a comprehensive statewide performance-based budget system to become effective July 1, 2001;
(2) report its findings and recommendations to the Legislative Council during the budget hearings held prior to the convening of the 83rd General Assembly;
(3) make a recommendation of the relationships and roles of the various legislative service agencies and the Office of the Governor in the performance-based budgeting system;
(4) recommend the timetable required for statewide implementation;
(5) recommend a method and fix the responsibility of verification of data collection;
(6) recommend a method and fix the responsibility for the evaluation of the success of programs;
(7) determine incentives and disincentives to be available for agency performance; and
(8) provide an estimated cost of implementation and such other elements as may be appropriate.

The Bureau of Legislative Research, the Legislative Auditor, the Department of Finance and Administration and such other agencies as may be required by the subcommittee shall provide full cooperation and assistance in this initiative.

Section 3. Emergency Clause. It is hereby found and determined by the Eighty-second General Assembly that the current line item budgeting is not conducive to making the agencies accountable and that the process of changing the system must begin immediately in order to see results in a meaningful time frame. Therefore, an emergency is declared to exist and this act being immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety shall become effective on the date of its approval by the Governor.

NOTE: The entire document is posted online at the Arkansas General Assembly site: http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/assembly/1999/R/Pages/Home.aspx