Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Department Transformation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Senate panel reviews bill to create Department of Transformation and Shared Services
Summary
A Senate committee heard presentation and line-by-line questions on House Bill 12 72, which would consolidate several agency functions into a new cabinet-level Department of Transformation and Shared Services; committee members pressed staff on decision authority, DIS oversight, building leases and specific statutory language.
Amy Fetcher, chief transformation officer for Governor Hutchinson, told the Senate State Agencies & Govt'l Affairs Committee that House Bill 12 72 "creates the Department of Transformation and Shared Services," a cabinet-level agency intended to drive efficiencies by folding geographic information systems, employee benefits, building authority functions, the office of transformation, personnel management, procurement and the Department of Information Services into a single structure.
The committee opened for questions after the presentation. Senator Bonds raised minor drafting and placement concerns and asked staff to ensure consent items were recorded correctly, while Senator Hickey pursued multiple line-specific questions about the bill's language. "Who’s going to have final say?" Hickey asked about a provision that requires consultation with a state board, pressing whether the secretary or the board would retain decisive authority. Marty Garrity of the Bureau of Legislative Research responded that, in some instances, the draft gives the secretary decision authority because certain offices previously held that power, and the intent was coordination rather than the wholesale removal of board powers.
Committee members also pressed for details about the Department of Information Services. An unidentified senator asked how DIS billings and procurement would be overseen after the reorganization and whether DIS has incentives to obtain the best price for agencies when it operates on cost recovery. Fetcher said the director of DIS would remain and report to the secretary; Garrity noted legislative audits of DIS occur and suggested specialized procurement questions would best be addressed by DIS staff.
Other topics included the building authority's role in tracking state leases and square footage. Committee staff confirmed the building authority maintains a "pretty good accounting" but noted state law does not require all agencies to route leases through that authority, so some leases remain private. Senators asked staff to produce existing lease and square-footage data so the committee could estimate possible physical savings from consolidation.
Senator Zample drew attention to existing language on penalties for late remittance to the Employee Benefits Division, noting the bill references a penalty of "$2 per insured member, or $100 whichever is greater" for agencies or school districts failing to submit required monthly reports; staff said that language appears to be existing law and will be reviewed.
Committee staff explained that some corrections-related changes and name updates (from the Department of Finance and Administration to Transformation and Shared Services) are displayed in the current draft for committee visibility but will appear in a corrections bill in the final package. No formal motion or vote occurred during the hearing. The committee adjourned after staff took several follow-up requests, including producing lease/spreadsheet data and clarifying language around secretarial authority and board roles.
