Approved:       February 14, 2007      

Date

MINUTES OF THE HOUSE GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY AND TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE

The meeting was called to order by Chairman Jim Morrison at 3:37 P.M. on February 12, 2007, in Room 526-S of the Capitol.

All members were present except Representatives Kelley, Tafanelli, and Wilk, all of whom were excused.

Committee staff present:

Mary Galligan, Kansas Legislative Research

Tatiana Lin, Kansas Legislative Research

Renae Jefferies, Office of Revisor of Statutes

Gary Deeter, Committee Assistant

Conferees appearing before the committee:

            Gavin Young, Director of Public Affairs, Kansas Department of Administration

Others attending:

See attached list.

The Chairman encouraged members to continue to be involved in formulating direction for the Committee.

The minutes for February 7 and 8 were approved. (Motion by Representative Sloan; second, Representative Frownfelter)

Staff Mary Galligan guided the Committee through the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) website (www.ksde.org) to illustrate how a person can build a report card for a given unified school district, even for a specific building, and then compare that data with other school districts in the state. The Chairman commented on the comprehensive state education data, suggesting that a similar database could reflect budgetary information. He referenced testimony from a previous meeting, commenting that the Kansas Department of Administration (DofA) is proposing a statewide Financial Management System (FMS) that could include similar comprehensive budgetary information to the public.

Recalling that the scope of FMS did not include funding for a searchable database, members discussed the cost of the FMS. Gavin Young, Director of Public Affairs, DofA, explained that the proposed $40.2-million project has $2.4 million in the FY 2007 budget, $2 million recommended in the FY 2008 budget, with agencies participating in future funding. He said that although the present financial system is incapable of providing public information and the proposed FMS does not include a public portal, he acknowledged that Duncan Friend, Project Manager, Division of Information Systems and Communications, and Bob Mackey, Director, Division of Accounts and Reports, have considered expanding the scope of the project and deem it possible to include a searchable database.

Returning to the KSDE website, the Chairman commented that HB 2175 (a central accounting and reporting system for all unified school districts) would add budgeting information to the KSDE data repertoire.

Staff Mary Galligan compared HB 2207 with HB 2457, saying that both bills propose a taxpayer transparency act creating a searchable website developed and maintained by the DofA (Attachment 1). She said that HB 2457 would mandate a searchable database, keyword search by the public, graphical representations, and a hyperlink to the Consumer Price Index. She noted that both bills list the kinds of expenditures to be included on a searchable database, explaining that the list is not exhaustive and that other kinds of expenditures may be included; she said specifically included are expenditures made under Kansas investments in major projects/training act and those made to the tribal nations in the state.

Answering a question, Ms. Galligan said the Revisor’s technical amendments to the bills make clear that tax refunds and other confidential Kansas Department of Revenue (KDOR) information are protected from disclosure (Attachment 2 and Attachment 3). She noted that HB 2457 includes the words “permit or” (page 2, line 37) to further protect Revenue’s privileged data.

A member recalled that the Secretary of KDOR recommended removing section 3. Staff Renae Jefferies replied that section 3 authorizes the secretary of KDOR to give information to the DofA and that, where confidentiality prohibits disclosing certain information, statistical data will suffice; she further noted that the bill does not impact other statutory directives. Ms. Jefferies said that if either bill is recommended for passage, the technical amendment for the bill should be adopted. A member suggested that a 30-day implementation time is a stricture that could be adjusted upward.

Commenting further on HB 2175, Ms. Galligan said the bill would establish a single, statewide, centralized accounting and reporting system for all school districts, a system which presently does not exist.

The Chairman announced that the next day’s meeting will be given to a sub-committee meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 4:42 p.m. The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, February 14, 2007.