Performance Measurement (1999)

Legislative Program Review and Investigations Committee

Performance Measurement (1999)

The Legislative Program Review and Investigations Committee conducted its performance measurement study in 1999. The purpose of the study was to identify ways to strengthen and systematize the availability and use of performance measurement information for the Connecticut General Assembly. The program review committee found the basic elements of a performance measurement system involved:

development of a plan that defines agency and program objectives and identifies strategies and resources to meet the objectives;
identification of measurable performance indicators;
collection and verification of the accuracy of the performance data; and
analysis of the performance data and distribution to decision-makers.

The committee through its analysis concluded:

Connecticut already has statutes requiring all the key elements of a performance measurement system; and
to have a successful performance measurement system, there must be a commitment to the system by executive and legislative leaders.

The remedies proposed by the program review committee were directed at modifying the responsibilities of existing governmental entities to assure their focus was on the systematic identification, collection, and distribution of performance data. Specifically: 1) the Office of Policy and Management (OPM) would be charged with overseeing the development of strategic plans and performance measures by executive branch agencies; 2) the state auditors' office would serve as an independent monitor of agency compliance; and 3) the program review committee would review reports and data produced by state agencies and forward the reports and data with the committee's comments to the legislature's Office of Fiscal Analysis and the appropriate committees within the General Assembly. The estimated cost of implementing this option ranges from $515,000 to $805,000 annually, depending on whether the reassigned staff are replaced in their previous units.

All but one of the program review committee's recommendations was incorporated into a bill (SB 165) during the 2000 legislative session. In addition to the program review committee, the Government Administration and Elections, Legislative Management, Appropriations, and Public Health committees approved the bill. The bill was sent to the Senate, where it was amended and passed in the last minutes of the 2000 session of the General Assembly.

The amended version called for the Office of Policy and Management to develop a report indicating how it would establish and carry out the performance measurement program outlined in the model put forth by the program review committee. The bill as amended died on the House calendar as time ran out on the 2000 session.

The table below summarizes the program review committee's recommendations and notes their implementation status.


Summary of Compliance with Committee Recommendations
*Recommendation*	*Status*	*Comment*
The Office of Policy and Management shall be responsible for assuring agencies: develop strategic plans; address performance information needs of the appropriations, government administrations and elections, and subject matter committees; and collect data and prepare annual reports.	None	Bill did not pass.
The Program Review and Investigations Committee shall be responsible for: analyzing and commenting on the agency reports; analyzing and commenting on the performance measurement and benchmarks; and distributing the reports submitted by OPM along with the committee's comments on the reports and data to relevant committees of the General Assembly.	None	Bill did not pass.
The Auditors of Public Accounts when conducting an agency or program audit shall be responsible for determining if: the agency's or program's strategic plan is current; the strategic plan contains all required elements; the data pertaining to the performance measures and benchmarks are being collected; and the data being collected are reliable and valid.	None	Bill did not pass.
The Office of Policy and Management shall establish a schedule requiring at least 20 percent of the budgeted state agencies to develop a strategic plan by July 1, 2001, and 100 percent by July 1, 2004.	None	Bill did not pass.
The Office of the State Comptroller shall pursue the development, funding, and implementation of a new state automated accounting system capable of providing performance data at the program level.	Full	This has been an ongoing effort of the comptroller's office.

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