HB 1366

This bill establishes a state employee recognition and award program. Employees may be eligible to be awarded a percentage of agency savings that result from implementation of the employee's proposal, or may receive nonmonetary recognition. The amount of savings is determined by an audit conducted by the legislative budget assistant.

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 New Subparagraph; Legislative Officers and Proceedings; Legislative Budget Assistant; Audit Division; Audit to Assess Cost-Savings. Amend RSA 14:31-a, I by inserting after paragraph (f) the following new subparagraph:

(g) Conduct audits to assess the amount of department or agency cost-savings pursuant to the state employee recognition and award program established in RSA 99-E.

2 State Employee Recognition and Award Program. RSA 99-E is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:

99-E:1 Committee. There is hereby established an evaluation committee to review employee suggestions and extraordinary service and to make awards.

(c) Two members, appointed by the governor from certified bargaining representatives selected from lists to be provided by the bargaining organization, who shall have 2-year terms.

(d) One member of the senate, appointed by the senate president, who shall serve a term coterminous with the member's legislative term.

(e) One member of the house of representatives, appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives, who shall serve a term coterminous with the member's legislative term.

II. The committee shall submit to the governor and the general court a biennial report of its activities, including employees recognized and rewarded, and efficiencies realized. The report shall be submitted by October 1 of each even-numbered year.

99-E:2 Awards. The committee shall give recognition, and if appropriate, awards to state employees as follows:

I. Monetary awards for original suggestions to improve government operation, safety, cost-savings, or efficiency; or

II. Nonmonetary recognition for extraordinary service in the interest of the state. Any state employee shall be eligible based on a suggestion or service which is outside or beyond the employee's regular responsibilities or performance standards.

I. A state employee interested in receiving a monetary award under RSA 99-E:2, I shall submit in writing an original proposal to the employee's department head and the legislative budget assistant. The written proposal shall include the employee's name, position, department, and the date and time of filing. Employees may jointly submit one proposal. If the same idea is submitted individually, the first to submit the written proposal to the department head and to the legislative budget assistant shall be entitled to any award.

II. Within 90 days of receiving the proposal, the department shall inform the employee and the legislative budget assistant in writing whether it intends to implement the proposal or whether more information is required. If more information is needed, the department shall state the amount of additional time required and shall notify the employee and the legislative budget assistant in writing of the department's decision regarding implementation of the proposal.

III. Within 12 months of implementation, the legislative budget assistant shall conduct an audit to determine the amount of cost-savings resulting from the employee's proposal. The cost of the audit shall be paid by the department in the next biennium from moneys identified as resulting from any cost-savings.

IV. By February 1 of each year, the legislative budget assistant shall submit award proposals received in the previous year, whether such proposals were implemented or not, to the committee, the governor and council, the speaker of the house of representatives, and the president of the senate.

I. An employee who is eligible for a monetary award under RSA 99-E:3 shall receive either $10,000 or 10 percent of the cost-savings realized in the first year of implementation of the proposal, whichever is less.

II. An amount equal to the monetary award shall be appropriated to the department in the biennium following implementation of the proposal. If the department is federally funded, the award shall be paid from the general fund, and the governor is authorized to draw a warrant for the award granted out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated. If the department is self-funding, the award shall be paid from the department's operating budget. The department head shall certify any amounts so appropriated to the director of personnel for transfer and payment to the employee.

99-E:5 Nonmonetary Recognition. A state employee shall be eligible for recognition under RSA 99-E:2, II based on the recommendation of the employee's supervisor or department head, for extraordinary suggestions or service in the interest of the state which are beyond the employee's regular responsibilities or performance standards. The committee, in conjunction with the employee's supervisor or department head, shall determine the appropriate form of recognition to which the employee is entitled.

99-E:6 Entitlement. No person shall have any vested rights to recognition or award under this chapter.

99-E:7 Rulemaking. The committee shall adopt rules, pursuant to RSA 541-A, relative to:

I. Procedures for submitting suggestions and nominations based on extraordinary service.

III. Standards for the amount of reward based on the value of the suggestion or service.

The Department of Administrative Services states this bill, as amended by the Senate, (Senate Amendment #2002-3424s) will decrease state expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2003 and each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on state, county, and local revenue or county and local expenditures.

The Department states this bill would allow employees to share in the savings from ideas that they bring forward that result in cost savings. The employee would receive $10,000 or 10% of the cost savings, whichever is less, in the first year of implementation of the proposal. The Department assumes one award will be granted each year at the maximum amount of $10,000.

The Office of Legislative Budget Assistant states this bill will have no fiscal impact on the Office, but there may be a reduction of hours available to audit state agency operations if audit time is diverted to reviewing cost saving suggestions.