7. Working paper. "Working paper" means all documentary and other information acquired, prepared or maintained by the office during the conduct of a program evaluation, including all intra- agency and interagency communications relating to a program evaluation and includes electronic messages and draft reports or any portion of a draft report.

§993.__Committee membership; cochairs

The committee consists of 6 members of the Senate and 6 members of the House of Representatives and must be evenly divided between the 2 largest political parties represented in each chamber.__The majority party Senators are appointed by the President of the Senate and the minority party Senators are appointed by the Senate Minority Leader.__The majority party House members are appointed by the Speaker of the House and the minority party House members are appointed by the House Minority Leader.__The terms of committee members coincide with the beginning and the end of each Legislature.__At the beginning of each Legislature, members shall elect cochairs, one of whom represents the majority party and one of whom represents the minority party.__One cochair must be from the Senate and one cochair must be from the House of Representatives.

§994.__Duties of the committee

The committee has the following duties:

1.__Director.__To hire the director of the office;

2.__Annual work plan.__To review and approve the annual work plan of the office;

3.__Direct evaluations.__To direct the office to conduct program evaluations;

4.__Conduct hearings.__To hold public hearings for the purpose of receiving reports from the office and interrogating public officials about office findings and recommendations;

5.__Examine witnesses.__To examine witnesses and to order the appearance of any person or the appearance of any person for the purpose of production to the committee of papers or records, including books, accounts, documents, computer disks or memory or

other electronic media and other materials regardless of their physical or electronic form;

6.__Administer oaths.__To administer oaths to witnesses appearing before the committee when, by a majority vote, the committee determines the administration of an oath necessary and advisable, to determine if there is probable cause that a witness has committed perjury by testifying falsely before the committee and to direct the attorney general to institute legal proceedings as provided by law;

7.__Vote on reports.__To vote at the committee's discretion to endorse, to endorse in part or to release a report of the office without endorsement;

8.__Subpoenas.__To issue subpoenas under the signature of either of the cochairs in the event of refusal to appear or to produce papers or records, including books, accounts, documents, computer disks or memory or other electronic media and other materials regardless of their physical or electronic form.__A subpoena issued under this subsection must be issued pursuant to the provisions of section 165 and chapter 21; and

9.__Meetings.__To conduct meetings at such times as the cochairs determine necessary.

§995.__Office established

The Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability is established under the authority of the committee to conduct program evaluations of state agencies and other entities, both public and private, that receive public funds.__The office shall carry out the purposes of this chapter.

§996.__Director

1.__Appointment.__The committee shall appoint a director of the office for the purpose of conducting program evaluations pursuant to this chapter. The director must be appointed to an initial 4-year term, which is subject to renewal by the committee every 4 years thereafter.__During the term of the contract, the director may be terminated only for cause by a 2/3 vote of the committee.__The Legislative Council shall establish the compensation of the director.__The director's duties must be performed independently but under the general policy direction of the committee.

2.__Duties.__The director shall supervise the staff of the office in accordance with policies adopted by the committee and consistent with the policies of the Legislative Council.__The

director shall prepare and present a biennial budget to the committee for its approval.__The director also shall prepare and present an annual work plan to the committee for its consideration and approval.__The director also may contract with private individuals or entities for the conduct of program evaluations under this chapter.__The director may request the committee to issue subpoenas.

3.__Program evaluation authority and notice.__The director may conduct a program evaluation without the approval of the committee if, in the director's judgment, such an evaluation is warranted.__The director shall notify the committee of a program evaluation initiated under this subsection within 10 working days of the initiation of the program evaluation.

4.__Employees.__Employees of the office are employed by and are responsible to the director, who shall hire and fix the compensation of each employee, subject to the approval of the committee and within resources available in the biennial budget.

5.__Annual report.__The director shall prepare an annual report of the office's activities for each calendar year and shall submit that annual report to the committee and the Legislature no later than March 1st of each calendar year.

§997.__Assistance to committee

The Department of the Attorney General, the State Auditor, the State Controller, the Commissioner of Administrative and Financial Services, the Director of the Office of Fiscal and Program Review and the Director of the Office of Policy and Legal Analysis shall assist the committee and office with program evaluations under this chapter if the committee and the director determine that such assistance is necessary.

§998.__Conduct and issuance of program evaluation reports

The director and the office shall adhere to the following provisions relative to conducting and issuing program evaluation reports under this chapter:

1.__Review and response.__Prior to the presentation of a program evaluation under this chapter to the committee by the office, the director of the evaluated state agency or other entity must have an opportunity to review a draft of the program evaluation report. Within 15 calendar days of receipt of the draft report, the director of the evaluated state agency or other entity may provide to the office comments on the draft report.__ If provided to the office by the comment deadline, the comments must be included in the final report when it is presented to the

committee.__Failure by the director of an evaluated agency or other entity to submit its comments on the draft report by the comment deadline may not delay the submission of a report to the committee or its release to the public.

All documents, writings, drafts, electronic communications and information transmitted pursuant to this subsection are confidential and may not be released to the public prior to the time the office issues its program evaluation report pursuant to subsection 3.__A person violating the provisions of this subsection regarding confidentiality is guilty of a Class E crime.

2.__Submission of final report to the committee.__The director shall notify the committee when each final program evaluation report under this chapter is completed.__The report must then be placed on the agenda for a future committee meeting.__At the meeting where a report appears on the agenda for the first time, the director will release that report to the committee and to the public simultaneously.__The committee, at its discretion, may vote to endorse, to endorse in part or to decline to endorse the report submitted by the director.

3.__Public release.__The director shall issue program evaluation reports, favorable or unfavorable, of any state agency or other entity, and these reports are public records, except that, prior to the release of a program evaluation report pursuant to subsection 2 or the point at which a program evaluation is no longer being actively pursued, all papers, physical and electronic records and correspondence and other supporting materials comprising the working papers in the possession of the director or other entity charged with the preparation of a program evaluation report are confidential and exempt from disclosure pursuant to Title 1, chapter 13.__All other records or materials in the possession of the director or other entity charged with the preparation of a program evaluation report under this chapter that would otherwise be confidential or exempt from disclosure are exempt from disclosure pursuant to the provisions of Title 1, chapter 13.__This subsection may not be construed to prohibit or prevent public access to the records of a state agency or other entity in the possession of the director that would otherwise be subject to disclosure pursuant to the provisions of Title 1, chapter 13.__The director shall refer requests for access to those records directly to the state agency or other entity that is the official custodian of the requested records, which shall respond to the request for public records.

4.__Information available to the office.__Notwithstanding any other law relating to the confidentiality of information, all information in the files of a state agency or other entity subject to program evaluation by the office under this chapter

must be made available when necessary to the office for performance of its duties.

A.__Before beginning a program evaluation under this chapter that may require access to records containing confidential or privileged information, the office shall consult with representatives of the state agency or other entity to discuss methods of identifying and protecting privileged or confidential information in those records. During that consultation, the state agency or other entity shall inform the office of all standards and procedures set forth in its policies or agreements to protect information considered to be confidential or privileged.__The office shall limit access to information that is privileged or confidential by appropriate methods, which may include examining records without copying or removing them from the source.

B.__Documentary or other information obtained by the office during the course of a program evaluation under this chapter is privileged or confidential to the same extent under law that that information would be privileged or confidential in the possession of the state agency or other entity providing the information.__Any privilege or statutory provision, including penalties, concerning the confidentiality or obligation not to disclose information in the possession of a state agency or other entity or its officers or employees applies equally to the office.__Privileged or confidential information obtained__by the office during the course of a program evaluation may be disclosed only as provided by law and with the agreement of the state agency or other entity subject to the program evaluation that provided the information.

C.__If the office accesses information classified as privileged or confidential pursuant to state agency or other entity policy or procedures or by agreement, the office shall comply with the state agency's or other entity's standards or procedures for handling that information.__The office may include in its working papers the excerpts from information classified as confidential or privileged as may be necessary to complete the program evaluation under this chapter, as long as the use does not infringe on department policies or procedures applicable to the original provision of information.

5.__Confidentiality of working papers.__Except as provided in this subsection, working papers are confidential and may not be disclosed to any person.__Prior to the release of the final program evaluation report, the director has sole discretion to disclose working papers to the state agency or other entity

subject to the program evaluation when disclosure will not prejudice the program evaluation.__After release of the final program evaluation report, working papers may be released as necessary to the state agency or other entity that was subject to the program evaluation under this chapter.

6.__Confidential sources.__If data supplied by an individual are needed to initiate, continue or complete a program evaluation under this chapter, the director may, by written memorandum to the file, provide that the individual's identity will remain confidential and exempt from disclosure under Title 1, chapter 13, and this written memorandum protects the identity of the person from disclosure under Title 1, chapter 13, notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary.

7. Disposition of final report. A final copy of a program evaluation report under subsection 2, including recommendations and the evaluated state agency's or other entity's comments, must be submitted to the commissioner or director of the state agency or other entity examined at least one day prior to the report's public release, and must be made available to each member of the Legislature no later than one day following the report's receipt by the committee.__The office may satisfy the requirement to provide each legislator a copy of the report by furnishing the report directly by electronic means or by providing notice to each legislator of the availability of the report on the office's publicly accessible site on the Internet.

Sec. 2. 5 MRSA §12004-G, sub-§26-F is enacted to read:

26-F. Joint Legislative 3 MRSA

Legislature LegislativePer Diem §991

Oversight and Expenses

Committee

Sec. 3. 26 MRSA §979-A, sub-§4-A, ¶¶E and F, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 741, §2 and affected by §12, are amended to read:

E. Who is a temporary, on-call employee; or

F. Who has been employed less than 30 days. ; or

Sec. 4. 26 MRSA §979-A, sub-§4-A, ¶G is enacted to read:

G.__Who is an employee of the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability established in Title 3, section 995.

Sec. 5. Appropriations and allocations. The following appropriations and allocations are made.

LEGISLATURE

Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability

Initiative: Provides funds for 11 full-time positions to staff the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability. This appropriation also provides funds for the per diem for the 12 legislative members of the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee. The All Other line item includes a one-time amount of $55,000 for furnishings and computers for each of the new staff. Other operating costs include funds for contractual services to perform some of the program evaluations, public hearings, printing the required reports and other miscellaneous expenses that will be incurred to support the activities of the office as well as the expenses of the oversight committee.

General Fund 2001-02 2002-03

Positions - Legislative Count (0.000) (11.000)

Personal Services $0 $720,594

All Other 0 325,795

Total $0 $1,046,389

FISCAL NOTE

2001-02 2002-03

APPROPRIATIONS/ALLOCATIONS

General Fund $1,046,389

The Legislature will require a General Fund appropriation beginning in fiscal year 2002-03 of $1,046,389 to provide funds to establish the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability. This appropriation will provide funds for 11 full-time positions to staff the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability and includes funds for the per diem for the 12 legislative members of the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee. The All Other line item includes a one-time amount of $55,000 for furnishings and computers for each of the new staff. Other operating costs include funds for contractual services to perform some of the program evaluations, public hearings, printing the required reports and any other miscellaneous expenses that will be incurred to support the activities of the office as well as the expenses of the oversight committee.

The additional costs associated with assisting the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee and the Office of Program

Evaluation and Government Accountability with program evaluations can be absorbed by the Department of the Attorney General, the Department of Audit and the Department of Administrative and Financial Services utilizing existing budgeted resources.

SUMMARY

This bill establishes both the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee and the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability for the purposes of providing legislative oversight of programs of State Government and to ensure the appropriate use of funds of State Government. The bill describes the duties of the committee and the office. It authorizes the committee to hire a director to operate the office. It describes the duties and powers of the director and the office. The bill also describes the manner in which program evaluations are to be conducted by the office and the manner in which reports are to be released to the committee and to the public. The bill also prohibits employees of the office from organizing or joining a union. This bill includes an appropriations and allocations section and a fiscal note.