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Panel approves rewrite of ACES to place oversight more with legislature
Summary
Senate Bill 317 would shift the ACES evaluation commission from a joint executive-legislative body to a legislature-centric commission; sponsor said the small staff has produced evaluations on suicide prevention and truancy and that the commission can provide metrics and recommendations for appropriators.
Senate Bill 317, presented by Senator Orr, seeks to make the ACES commission a legislature-centered body rather than a joint executive-legislative entity. Orr told the committee ACES was established in 2019 and has a modest budget — "around 5 or 600,000" — and a small staff that has produced reports and recommendations, including work on suicide rates and a 1-800 hotline and evaluations of family-service programs aimed at reducing truancy.
Committee members asked whether ACES is advisory or has oversight powers and how it would operate. Orr said the commission currently conducts evaluations of executive-branch programs, issues recommendations and selects a few priorities each year for examination; it meets infrequently while a small staff conducts the analysis. "They have done some good work," Orr said, describing the commission's role in identifying underused appropriations and recommending policy responses.
Several senators pressed for clarity about scope and powers; the sponsor said ACES would examine executive agencies and operations rather than boards and commissions, and that the commission's value lies in data-driven evaluations that inform appropriation decisions. The committee gave Senate Bill 317 a favorable report (recorded vote noted at committee). The bill will proceed to the next stage of consideration on the Senate floor.
