Committee reviews draft to create two-year pilot Government Accountability Committee

Legislative Council counsel Tim Devlin told the committee the strike-all amendment to House Bill 67 would establish a pilot Government Accountability Committee to examine how evidence is used in policymaking and how state laws are implemented.

"For the record, my name is Tim Devlin, Legislative Council," Devlin said as he outlined draft 2.2, describing a panel intended to promote "consistent and transparent accountability practices through simple, clear, independent, objective, fast fact-based processes." The draft presented a detailed list of duties, membership rules and reporting deadlines.

Under the proposal, the pilot would have five voting members — two House members appointed by the Speaker, two Senate members appointed by the Committee on Committees, and one former legislator appointed by the Governor — plus three nonvoting members: the Chief Performance Officer (or designee), the Auditor of Accounts (or designee), and one additional appointed member with relevant experience. Devlin said the bill directs standing committee chairs in both chambers to recommend issues; the House and Senate Government Operations committees each would pick three topics and forward up to six for the pilot committee to consider, from which the pilot would select its priority.

Devlin walked members through the committee's powers and duties: examining selected issues, reviewing program performance and outcome data, considering independent research and audits, identifying effective practices, aligning funding and statutory intent with measurable results, monitoring agency follow-up, coordinating with existing oversight entities to avoid duplication, surveying relevant state data, and considering how program outcomes are communicated. He also said the pilot could develop or use evaluation tools to produce consistent measures of program performance.

The bill requires two reports: an interim report to the House and Senate Government Operations and Military Affairs committees on or before Nov. 15, 2027, and a final report on or before Nov. 15, 2028. Devlin said the pilot's first meeting must occur on or before March 1, 2027, and it would select a chair at that meeting; a majority of voting members constitutes a quorum.

Financial and authority limits were emphasized. The draft provides for per-diem compensation for attendance under cited BSA sections for up to 10 meetings and references a $2,000 appropriation to the base. Devlin noted that state employees drawing a salary would not receive extra compensation beyond their regular pay. He also said the pilot does not include subpoena power, distinguishing it from prior versions of a Government Accountability Committee.

Representatives who worked on the bill described the rewrite as an effort to learn from past iterations. A representative involved in drafting said the aim is to keep the panel "forward looking, more collaborative" and to avoid recreating a committee that "struggled to actually make it work." The presenters highlighted the intent to use existing resources — the Auditor's Office, the Chief Performance Officer, the Joint Fiscal Office, and Legislative Council staff — to avoid duplicative work.

A committee member asked whether the pilot's focus would be on agency performance metrics or on improving how the legislature writes laws; presenters said the pilot is intended to do both: evaluate implementation and produce lessons to inform future legislative drafting. Devlin and others suggested starting with discrete programs (an example given was an animal welfare program) so the pilot can test evaluation language and check back in two years.

There was no formal vote on the amendment during this session. The meeting paused for a break and was scheduled to resume at 11:00 a.m.

The next procedural step is for committee members to ask follow-up questions and for the sponsors to consider edits before any formal motion or vote is taken.