67th Legislature HB 277.1
1 HOUSE BILL NO. 277
2 INTRODUCED BY B. MERCER, M. BERTOGLIO, G. CUSTER, J. DOOLING, W. MCKAMEY, L. REKSTEN, D.
3 BARTEL, D. BEDEY, J. GILLETTE, L. JONES, T. MOORE, M. REGIER, B. USHER, S. VINTON
4
5 A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED: “AN ACT GENERALLY REVISING LAWS RELATED TO PROVIDING FOR A
6 STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS FOR CERTAIN GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES; REQUIRING
7 DEPARTMENTS TO PRODUCE 3-YEAR STRATEGIC PLANS AND ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REPORTS;
8 PROVIDING FOR CERTAIN PUBLIC COMMENT PROVISIONS; ALLOWING LEGISLATIVE USE AND
9 REVIEW OF PERFORMANCE DATA AND DOCUMENTS FOR OVERSIGHT AND PROSPECTIVE
10 LEGISLATION; LIMITING JUDICIAL REVIEW; REPEALING REQUIREMENTS RELATED TO STRATEGIC
11 INFORMATION PROVIDED AS PART OF THE BUDGET PROCESS; REQUIRING THAT ONLY EXISTING
12 RESOURCES MAY BE USED; PROVIDING DEFINITIONS; AMENDING SECTIONS 2-4-102, 17-7-111, AND
13 17-7-123, MCA; REPEALING SECTIONS 2-15-2221, 2-15-2222, 2-15-2223, 2-15-2224, 2-15-2225, AND 2-15-
14 2226, MCA; AND PROVIDING AN IMMEDIATE EFFECTIVE DATE.”
15
16 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:
17
18 NEW SECTION. Section 1. Short title. [Sections 1 through 8] may be cited as the "State
19 Measurement for Accountable, Responsive, and Transparent Government Act".
20
21 NEW SECTION. Section 2. Declaration of policy and purpose. (1) It is the public policy of this
22 state that:
23 (a) state government departments should operate under a performance management philosophy in
24 which employees focus on taxpayer and customer service, underpinned by the constant goal of achieving
25 operational excellence;
26 (b) a performance management philosophy promotes long-term and broad thinking, focusing on
27 results for Montanans, and guides the allocation of human and material resources and day-to-day activities;
28 (c) the development of a multiyear strategic plan with performance measures that require the annual
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1 evaluation of the outcomes, outputs, and impacts of the work of the departments would allow policymakers,
2 stakeholders, and the public to understand what departments intend to accomplish, any timelines associated
3 with what they intend to accomplish, and whether each department has successfully and optimally achieved its
4 long-range strategic plan;
5 (d) performance measures should be designed so that department efforts are focused on
6 implementing legislative intent, prioritizing strategic goals and objectives, and allocating resources, and so that
7 they provide meaningful and useful information that evaluates performance and assesses progress in achieving
8 goals and objectives. To that end, performance measures must adequately assess departmental performance,
9 focus on key processes, be central to the success of the process being measured, and indicate whether
10 progress toward the department's goals and objectives is occurring.
11 (e) performance measures should be integrated into the planning process and maintained on an
12 ongoing basis;
13 (f) by measuring and evaluating whether desired outputs and outcomes are achieved and programs
14 are operating efficiently, the state would improve program coordination, eliminate duplicate programs or
15 activities, and provide better information to the governor, the legislature, and the public;
16 (g) the ability of the general public, the legislature, the governor, and departments to assess
17 department progress in achieving the long-term strategic plan would lead to improvements in services rendered
18 and increased efficiency in program administration, as well as transparency;
19 (h) the budget process should serve as part of a system of performance management to incentivize
20 continuous improvement in the services delivered to customers and taxpayers;
21 (i) departments strive for continuous improvement, a critical and necessary component of the state
22 measurement for accountable, responsive, and transparent government performance management philosophy;
23 and
24 (j) a system of performance management would be more useful and reliable if annual performance
25 reports of the departments are completed and presented to the legislature and made available to the public.
26 (2) It is the purpose of [sections 1 through 8] to provide for a strategic planning process for state
27 government and to provide for more cost-effective, efficient, and responsive government services by using
28 defined outputs, outcomes, and performance measures to annually evaluate and optimize the performance of
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1 state government.
2
3 NEW SECTION. Section 3. Definitions. As used in [sections 1 through 8], unless the context clearly
4 indicates otherwise, the following definitions apply:
5 (1) "Annual performance report" means a written annual review and assessment of the outputs and
6 outcomes of a department as compared to its long-range strategic plan and performance measures.
7 (2) "Department" means each entity listed in 2-15-104(1)(a) through (1)(p).
8 (3) "Goal" means a specific, quantifiable goal or target related to a performance measure that is
9 adopted by a department.
10 (4) "Long-range strategic plan" means a written plan prepared by a department that contains the
11 mission, goals, and objectives that the department intends to accomplish, that is used to guide the ongoing and
12 proposed activities of a department for 3 fiscal years with performance measures for tracking success in
13 meeting goals and objectives, that is revised regularly, and that remains in effect until replaced or revised.
14 (5) "Performance measure" means a written monitoring tool that is designed as an indicator to assess
15 the operational performance of a department pursuant to a published long-range strategic plan and is intended
16 to help guide government and make it accountable. Where feasible, performance measures must be
17 quantitative.
18
19 NEW SECTION. Section 4. Long-range strategic plan. (1) Each department shall engage in the
20 process of strategic planning and shall produce a long-range strategic plan to be used to guide its ongoing and
21 proposed activities for the next 3 years.
22 (2) No later than October 1, 2021, each department shall adopt a long-range strategic plan. Each
23 department shall publish a subsequent long-range strategic plan on July 1, 2024, and shall publish a revised
24 plan on July 1 every 3 years thereafter.
25 (3) Revisions in the long-range strategic plan may be prompted before expiration of the applicable 3-
26 year period by a reexamination of priorities or the need to redirect state resources based on new
27 circumstances, including events or trends.
28 (4) At a minimum, a long-range strategic plan must include the following components:
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1 (a) a mission statement, which must provide a broad, comprehensive statement of purpose for the
2 department;
3 (b) a description of the functions and programs of the department;
4 (c) goals of the department that reflect the benefits the department expects to achieve on behalf of
5 the public or specific groups that extend at least 3 years into the future;
6 (d) specific and measurable performance measures developed in compliance with [section 6] for the
7 major functions of the department, which must, at a minimum, include indicators of input, output, outcome, and
8 efficiency;
9 (e) a narrative description of the strategies necessary to meet each performance goal; and
10 (f) an identification of potential external factors that are beyond the control of the department and
11 which could significantly affect the achievement of its goals.
12 (5) In addition, each long-range strategic plan must include, where applicable, the statutory
13 requirement or other authority for each goal and identification of the primary persons who will benefit from or be
14 significantly affected by each objective within the plan.
15 (6) (a) A department's long-range strategic plan, including associated performance measures, may
16 be adopted only after consideration of input from the employees of the department and public comment.
17 (b) The department shall encourage, solicit, and consider employee input throughout the process of
18 creating and adopting a long-range strategic plan, including during the initial development of a new long-term
19 strategic plan or a subsequent long-term strategic plan.
20 (c) Before adopting a new or subsequent long-range strategic plan, the department shall:
21 (i) prior to the beginning of the public notice period, give written public notice of the proposed long-
22 range strategic plan by:
23 (A) providing prominent notice of the proposed plan and any associated hearings on its website; and
24 (B) publishing notice in the Montana Administrative Register of the proposed long-range strategic
25 plan, any associated hearings, and the dates during which public comment will be accepted;
26 (ii) hold at least one public hearing on the proposed long-range strategic plan;
27 (iii) accept public comment for at least 30 days; and
28 (iv) fully consider written and oral comments made during the public comment period and post
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1 transcripts of public hearings and written comments on the long-range strategic plan on its website.
2 (7) The long-range strategic plan must be posted on the websites of the department and the office of
3 budget and program planning.
4
5 NEW SECTION. Section 5. Annual performance report. (1) No later than October 1, 2022, and no
6 later than October 1 of each year thereafter, each department shall produce an annual performance report for
7 the previous fiscal year and distribute it as provided in subsections (4) and (5).
8 (2) The annual performance report must focus on measuring outcomes rather than process.
9 Therefore, the department shall identify the outputs produced by each program, the outcomes resulting from
10 each program, and baseline data associated with each performance measure.
11 (3) The annual performance report must assess and propose changes to the existing performance
12 measures as provided in [section 6(6)].
13 (4) The annual performance report must be posted on the websites of the department and the office
14 of budget and program planning. The annual performance report must include a hyperlink to the department's
15 long-range strategic plan posted on the department's official website.
16 (5) By October 1 of each year, in accordance with 5-11-210, the annual performance report of each
17 department must be provided to the legislative finance committee and the appropriate legislative policy interim
18 committee provided for in Title 5, chapter 5, part 2.
19
20 NEW SECTION. Section 6. Performance measures. (1) Performance measures must be:
21 (a) derived from a department's goals, with an emphasis on serving the department's customers;
22 (b) results oriented, focusing on outcome measures and output measures;
23 (c) selective, concentrating on the most important indicators of performance;
24 (d) useful, providing information that is of value to the department, policymakers, and the public; and
25 (e) reliable, providing accurate and consistent information.
26 (2) A performance measure must:
27 (a) apply to activities directly under the influence of the department;
28 (b) demonstrate department efficiency and effectiveness in delivering goods or services to customers
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1 and taxpayers; and
2 (c) be reasonably understandable to the public.
3 (3) Performance measures must measure key processes and activities, rather than being designed to
4 report every department activity.
5 (4) A system that supports performance measure data collection must have effective controls that
6 provide reasonable assurance that the information is being properly collected and accurately reported. If
7 directed by the legislative audit committee, the legislative audit division may provide information concerning the
8 accuracy of data collection and reporting.
9 (5) Department managers shall use performance measures as an integral part of their strategic and
10 operational management for the department.
11 (6) Performance measures must be developed and revised as part of the strategic planning process
12 no less than every 3 years. In the annual performance report, the department shall assess and propose
13 changes needed to make certain that existing performance measures relate logically to goals and other
14 elements of the long-range strategic plan and provide a focus on serving customers.
15
16 NEW SECTION. Section 7. Legislature use of performance data. For use in researching or
17 preparing prospective legislation or for use related to oversight responsibilities delegated to the entity, including
18 delegated responsibilities concerning budgetary issues, during an interim the following entities may request,
19 review, and use performance measure data and departmental strategic planning documents provided for in
20 [sections 1 through 8]:
21 (1) an interim committee provided for in 5-5-202(2);
22 (2) the legislative audit committee established in 5-13-201;
23 (3) the legislative consumer committee established in 5-15-101;
24 (4) the legislative council established in 5-11-101;
25 (5) the legislative finance committee established in 5-12-201;
26 (6) the local government committee established in 5-5-232;
27 (7) the state-tribal relations committee established in 5-5-229; and
28 (8) the environmental quality council established in 5-16-101.
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1
2 NEW SECTION. Section 8. Judicial review. A department's consideration of input from state
3 employees and public comment in developing or revising a long-range strategic plan is not subject to judicial
4 review.
5
6 Section 9. Section 2-4-102, MCA, is amended to read:
7 "2-4-102. Definitions. For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:
8 (1) "Administrative rule review committee" or "committee" means the appropriate committee assigned
9 subject matter jurisdiction in Title 5, chapter 5, part 2.
10 (2) (a) "Agency" means an agency, as defined in 2-3-102, of state government, except that the
11 provisions of this chapter do not apply to the following:
12 (i) the state board of pardons and parole, which is exempt from the contested case and judicial review
13 of contested cases provisions contained in this chapter. However, the board is subject to the remainder of the
14 provisions of this chapter.
15 (ii) the supervision and administration of a penal institution with regard to the institutional supervision,
16 custody, control, care, or treatment of youth or prisoners;
17 (iii) the board of regents and the Montana university system;
18 (iv) the financing, construction, and maintenance of public works;
19 (v) the public service commission when conducting arbitration proceedings pursuant to 47 U.S.C. 252
20 and 69-3-837.
21 (b) The term does not include a school district, a unit of local government, or any other political
22 subdivision of the state.
23 (3) "ARM" means the Administrative Rules of Montana.
24 (4) "Contested case" means a proceeding before an agency in which