House Bill No. 89

Introduced By kottel

By Request of the Joint Interim Subcommittee on State Management Systems



A Bill for an Act entitled: "An Act creating a legislative oversight committee on state management systems; specifying the appointment of members to the committee; describing the duties, responsibilities, and authority of the committee; providing for staff support for the committee; appropriating funds for the activities of the committee; and providing effective dates and a termination date."



Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Montana:



NEW SECTION. Section 1.  Purpose. The purpose of [sections 1 through 9] is to ensure legislative oversight of the laws governing state personnel, finance, and asset management. The committee created in [section 3] performs a general oversight function for the legislature, focusing on information technology within Montana state government and on the management of assets entrusted to the state. It is also the purpose of [sections 1 through 9] to enable the committee to fully pursue and examine opportunities for and advantages of installing an integrated system of asset management tools by employing an economical, effective, and ongoing transition from nonautomated or automated but not integrated legacy systems to a fully integrated, automated set of systems. The legislature also intends for the committee to conduct an ongoing evaluation of what, if any, legislative actions, including the appropriation of funds, are required to support the transition.



NEW SECTION. Section 2.  Definition. In [sections 1 through 9], "committee" means the legislative oversight committee on state management systems created in [section 3].



NEW SECTION. Section 3.  Legislative oversight committee on state management systems -- appointment and composition. (1) There is a legislative oversight committee on state management systems.

(2)  The committee consists of:

(a)  two members of the senate appointed by the committee on committees;

(b)  two members of the house of representatives appointed by the speaker;

(c) two members of the legislative finance committee, INCLUDING A MEMBER OF THE SENATE APPOINTED BY THE COMMITTEE ON COMMITTEES AND A MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES appointed by the presiding officer of the legislative finance committee SPEAKER; and

(d) two members of the legislative audit committee, INCLUDING A MEMBER OF THE SENATE APPOINTED BY THE COMMITTEE ON COMMITTEES AND A MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES appointed by the presiding officer of the legislative audit committee SPEAKER.

(3)  Each appointing authority in subsections (2)(a) through (2)(d) may not appoint more than one member TWO MEMBERS of the same political party.

(4)  Members must be appointed before the 90th legislative day of a regular session.



NEW SECTION. Section 4.  Term of office -- vacancies. (1) Appointments to the committee are for 2 years. A member of the committee serves until the member's term of office as a legislator ends or the member's successor is appointed, whichever occurs first.

(2) A vacancy on the committee must be filled in the same manner as the original appointment.

(3)  An appointment to the committee under subsection (2) is for the unexpired term of the original member.



NEW SECTION. Section 5.  Officers. (1) The committee shall elect one of its members as the presiding officer and may elect other officers it considers necessary.

(2) If the committee elects a vice presiding officer, the member elected may not be of the same political party as the presiding officer.



NEW SECTION. Section 6.  Meetings and compensation. (1) The committee shall meet at the request of the presiding officer or at the request of a majority of the committee members. The committee may meet during and between legislative sessions.

(2)  Committee members are entitled to receive compensation and expenses as provided in 5-2-302.



NEW SECTION. Section 7.  Powers and duties of committee -- legislative oversight of state management systems -- committee reports. (1) The committee shall:

(a) exercise legislative oversight of information technology and state management systems, including without limitation the review of:

(i)  proposed budgets;

(ii)  proposed legislation; and

(iii)  major contracts and personnel actions as those contracts or actions may apply to information technology or state management systems; and

(b) provide a forum for and actively solicit participation by representatives of local governments in Montana to facilitate communication, collaboration, and cooperation between the state and its subdivisions with respect to information technology and the management of state and nonstate assets entrusted to the state.

(2) The committee may undertake the study of:

(a) the laws governing state personnel, finance, and asset management, with the goal of ensuring clear, internally consistent, and simplified statutory language based upon clear and consistent policy goals and ensuring that the state and its agencies are able to maintain strict accountability for both state and nonstate assets entrusted to the state;

(b) opportunities for and advantages of installing an integrated system of asset management tools by employing an economical and effective transition from currently nonautomated or automated but not integrated legacy systems to a fully integrated, automated set of systems and an evaluation of what, if any, legislative actions would be required to support such a transition; and

(c) other matters that the committee determines are relevant to its purpose.

(3) The committee may form active working groups of state management and information system professionals, including personnel from the department of administration, the office of budget and program planning, the legislative fiscal division, and the legislative audit division, as well as separate user groups, to meet separately and with the committee to identify problems and opportunities and to advise the committee regarding potential solutions and planning details.

(4) The committee may:

(a) review administrative rules relevant to information technology or state management systems for the purpose of determining compliance with Title 2, chapter 17, part 5, and may take any action available as a remedy under the Montana Administrative Procedure Act; or

(b)  by an affirmative vote of at least five members of the committee, contract for the preparation of an economic impact statement or require the department promulgating an administrative rule related to information technology or the management of state assets to prepare an economic impact statement, following the provisions of 2-4-405.

(5)  The committee may investigate and issue reports on any matter concerning information technology or state management systems.



NEW SECTION. Section 8.  Staff support. (1) The legislative services division shall provide research and legal support as requested by the committee if the request is within available staff resources as determined by the executive director of the legislative services division. The legislative services division shall also provide administrative and fiscal support to the committee.

(2) The committee may request staff assistance from:

(a) the legislative branch;

(b) the department of administration or any other department of state government;

(c) the judiciary;

(d) representatives of local governments or the federal government; or

(e) private individuals or others having information or capacity to assist the committee in its activities.



NEW SECTION. Section 9.  Reports. (1) The department of administration shall, at the request of the committee, report to the committee on the department's progress in meeting the requirements expressed in Title 2, chapter 17, part 5.

(2) The committee shall report its findings, conclusions, and options for legislative consideration on or before December 1 immediately before each regular legislative session.



NEW SECTION. Section 10.  Appropriation. There is appropriated from the general fund to the legislative services division $20,000 for fiscal years 1998 and 1999 for the activities of the legislative oversight committee on state management systems created in [section 3]. This is a biennial appropriation.



NEW SECTION. Section 11.  Codification instruction. [Sections 1 through 9] are intended to be codified as an integral part of Title 5, and the provisions of Title 5 apply to [sections 1 through 9].



NEW SECTION. Section 12.  Transition. If [this act] is approved after adjournment sine die of the 55th legislature, the appointments required in [section 3] must be made before June 15, 1997.



NEW SECTION. Section 13.  Effective dates. (1) Except as provided in subsection (2), [this act] is effective on passage and approval.

(2) [Section 10] is effective July 1, 1997.



NEW SECTION. Section 14.  Termination. [This act] terminates December 31, 2002.

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