Approved: February 20, 2007

Date

MINUTES OF THE HOUSE GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY AND TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE

The meeting was called to order by Chairman Jim Morrison at 3:32 P.M. on February 19, 2007, in Room 526-S of the Capitol.

All members were present except Representatives Tafanelli, Frownfelter, and Sloan, all of whom were excused.

Committee staff present:

Mary Galligan, Kansas Legislative Research Department

Tatiana Lin, Kansas Legislative Research Department

Julian Efird, Kansas Legislative Research Department

Renae Jefferies, Office of Revisor of Statutes

Gary Deeter, Committee Assistant

Conferees appearing before the committee:

Martin Eckhardt, Director, Central Accounting Services, Division of Accounts and Reports, Kansas Department of Administration

Duncan Friend, Project Manager, Financial Management System, Division of Information Systems and Communications, Kansas Department of Administration

Others attending:

See attached list.

The minutes for the February 14 and February 15 meetings were approved. (Motion, Representative Loganbill; second, Representative Siegfreid)

The Committee continued discussion of HB 2457 -creating the Kansas transparency act.

Martin Eckhardt, Director, Central Accounting Services, Division of Accounts and Reports, Kansas Department of Administration (DofA), reviewed the department’s suggested amendments to the bill. He stated that based on Committee discussion, he considered what could be provided through the present state financial system (STARS), commenting that Attachment 1 represents what can be done to begin implementing the bill. He explained various changes from the original bill, noting deletions such as keyword searching and downloading data, replaced with efficiently search and display, saying the intent is to give DofA flexibility in providing the available information. Answering a question, he said the amendments envision the website starting with data from FY 2002 and going forward with no limit on the amount of data, but spanning 10 years, so that at the 11^th year, the first year’s data will drop off. He said the implementation date was changed from January 1 to March 1, 2008, and that the new fiscal year’s data will become available 90 days (rather than 30 days) after the close of the preceding fiscal year.

Answering questions, Mr. Eckhardt replied that the expenditures include federal funds and state payments to unified school districts. Acknowledging a member’s comment that school payments are out of sync with the fiscal year, the Chairman commented that HB 2175 addresses that issue. Mr. Eckhardt replied to another question that the local option budget information is already on the State Department of Education website and that STARS captures the monthly payments to USDs.

Julian Efird, Kansas Legislative Research Department, reviewed amendments to the DofA balloon and explained additions to that version added at the direction of the Chair, noting that all of the DofA changes were in black, orange, and magenta and that the green text indicates the Chair's directed additions (Attachment 2). He explained that the new additions would create a public finance transparency board modeled after Information Network of Kansas board. He said the Secretary of Administration will have sole authority of the website and control its content; the proposed new amendments create the advisory board and, anticipating the new statewide accounting and reporting system (Financial Management System, or FMS), include other data sources. He noted a clause that acknowledges the limitations of current information and allows implementation of the website without having to meet requirements that would be impossible to meet with only current data. Mr. Efird noted that STARS reflects only funds in the State Treasury, observing that other state financial activity occurs outside the State Treasury: bonded debt issued by the Kansas Development Finance Authority and Kansas Turnpike Authority, which are of interest to citizens and the legislature, even though outside the appropriations process.

Mr. Efird continued by commenting on the definition of an agency as reflected in K.S.A. 75-3701(3), which spans the range from the Kansas Department of Revenue to the Kansas Board of Barber Examiners. He noted the types of expenditures, which include such things as contractual services, commodities, debt service, grants, donations, and aid to local units of government. Answering a question, he replied that most state agency information is public, but not available unless a person makes a specific request for specific information, such as salary information in SHARP, or bonded indebtedness from the Kansas Development Finance Authority. He said the proposed amendments will, as information becomes available, allow additional data to be added. He commented that the details of revenues and expenditures mirror categories in the financial system, enabling agencies to more easily provide data.

Mr. Efird said the proposed amendments change the maximum span of years for available data to not less than 10 years to allow retention of data beyond 10 years, further changing the time for the previous year’s data to be available to 45 days after the end of the preceding fiscal year. He commented on the membership of the proposed advisory board and the requirement of the Secretary of Administration to consult with the board. Answering questions, Mr. Efird said the waiver clause protects the Secretary from having to do the impossible.

Mr. Eckhardt commented on the additions, saying that they specify in more detail what the DofA understood in general terms, commenting that the general concepts provide more flexibility for the Secretary. Answering a question, he said salary information would be public, but not benefits. To another question, he said STARS cannot provide details, only aggregate information, since the object codes offer no further specificity; however, with the FMS, detailed information could be made accessible.

Duncan Friend, Project Manager, Financial Management System, Division of Information Systems and Communications, Kansas Department of Administration, elaborated on the request for details, explaining that initial implementation of the bill must begin at a high level with limited access to details, since the transaction level would run into the hundreds of thousands. The Chairman concurred, acknowledging that the website must be built incrementally.

The meeting was adjourned at 4:32 p.m. The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, February 20, 2007.