House Government Operations panel reviews status of 20 statutorily required reports; many not formally filed

On May 22, the House Government Operations & Military Affairs Committee convened to get updates from members on work tied to a reports-repeal bill and the status of roughly 20 statutorily required reports.

“We're gonna have just sort of a mildly informally formal conversation on the reports repeal bill work,” the committee chair said at the start of the meeting.

Committee members said their initial reviews found a range of behaviors by the agencies responsible for those statutorily required reports. Several committees and representatives told the panel that some reports are routinely filed and available, while others appear only in committee testimony or are produced only when the legislature or another body requests them.

Rep. Waters Evans said she has not been able to find a written report the statute appears to require and has begun sending a screenshot of the statute to agency contacts to ask whether and where any reports were sent. “I looked for it everywhere and did not find it,” Waters Evans said, describing her search for a 2012 statutory report on a genuine progress indicator.

Members reported some specific findings by agency: the court administrator’s office had not submitted a formal written report tied to a 2011 statute, the Department of Health’s foodborne-illness reports last showed activity in February 2021 and multiple years’ filings indicated “0” cases, and the Department of Motor Vehicles and Department of Health had printed copies on file for certain reports that were located. The Emergency Medical Services Advisory Committee’s five-year statewide plan reports have been submitted routinely, the committee was told, and several members recommended retaining that reporting requirement or extending it because the five-year planning cycle remains active.

Brett Boyden reported that Department of Human Resources seasonal-employment reports have been filed routinely since 2020; he noted a notable data change, saying the 2020 report “specified that we had over a thousand, temporary employment employees,” whereas more recent reports listed fewer than five.

Members also discussed retirement- and pension-related reports. One retirement-funds integrity report appears to reach the appropriations committee only on request and in testimony rather than as a written, regularly filed report. Several members said that when funding or recommendations diverged — for example, between a governor's recommendation and a retirement board recommendation — such reports had been requested in prior biennia, but because funds have recently been fully funded the panel has not routinely needed to request them.

There were no formal votes or statutory changes at the meeting. Members said next steps include contacting agency leads, asking agencies whether they prepared written reports that were not uploaded to public databases, and clarifying whether particular reports are meant to be filed only upon request. Several members said they would follow up by email or direct contact; Rep. Stone said he had already messaged an agency contact and was awaiting a reply.

The committee spent about a half hour reviewing assignments and outstanding questions and did not make a final recommendation on repeals or retention during the session. Members signaled they will continue compiling documentation and reach back to the committee with agency responses before any repeal or retention decisions are proposed.