Consolidated Amendment "G" to H3400

Constitutional Officers and State Administration

Fiscal Note: $2,961,693

Amendment 433 has been re-categorized to the Legislation, Non-Budget category.

Amendments 83 and 496 have been re-categorized from the Revenue category.

Amendment 417 has been re-categorized from the Labor and Economic Development category.

Amendments from the Constitutional Officers and State Administration: 23, 24, 62, 64, 67, 69, 70, 75, 100, 108, 168, 193, 195, 198, 199, 215, 244, 288, 308, 311, 343, 364, 370, 380, 392, 441, 463, 468, 493, 498, 511, 535,545 558, 559, 575, 577, 620, 651, 661, 678, 699 and 711.

Mr. Dempsey of Haverill and others move to amend H.3400 in section 2, in item 0900-0100, by striking out the figures “$1,696,500” and inserting in place thereof the figures: “$1,796,500”

And further amend the bill in section 2, in item 0920-0300, by striking out the figures "$1,220,342", and inserting in place thereof the figures "$1,270,342".

And further amend the bill in section 2, in item 0521-0000, by striking out the figures “$4,203,698” and inserting in place thereof the figures: “$5,175,000”

And further amend the bill in section 2, in item 0521-0001, by striking out the figures “$4,687,121” and inserting in place thereof the figures: “$4,937,121”

And further amend the bill in section 2, in item 0640-0300, by striking the figures “$4,449,866” and inserting in place thereof the figures: “$5,449,866”

And further amend the bill in section 2, in line item 0840-0101, by striking the figures “$728,773” and inserting in place thereof the figures “$772,500”

And further amend the bill in section 2, in item 0521-0001, by adding after “2012”the following-

"provided further that all information contained in the Central Voter Registration Computer System as described in MGL 51 § 47C and all election results since January 1, 2001 for which the office of the State Secretary has any involvement under MGL 54 be made available to the Speaker of the House and Senate President for the purpose of the redistricting under Article XVI and Article CI of the Massachusetts Constitution."

And further amend the bill by inserting the following items:-

“1100-1201 For the operation of the office of commonwealth performance, accountability and transparency; provided, that the activities funded from this item may include, but not be limited to, the operations and maintenance of a performance management program, maximization of federal revenue opportunities and oversight of compliance with federal reporting requirements including the implementation and oversight of the Federal Financial Accountability and Transparency Act section 14c of chapter 7 of the general laws and other statewide transparency initiatives to enhance program integrity and ongoing efforts to prevent fraud, waste and abuse throughout the executive branch; provided further, that funds may be expended for performing enhanced economic forecasting and analysis; and provided further, that the unit may develop guidelines and methodologies for agencies to follow in the forecasting of caseloads and revenue……….$350,000”

“0610-0051 For the operations of the alcoholic beverages control commission relative to the prevention of underage drinking and related programs, including but not limited to applying for and obtaining federal Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms funds, grants, and other federal appropriations; provided further, that the commission is hereby authorized to expend revenues up to $171,664 collected from fees generated by said commission; provided further, that for the purposes of accommodating discrepancies between the receipt of retained revenue and related expenditures, said commission may incur expenses and the comptroller may certify for payment amounts not to exceed the lower of this authorization or the most recent revenue estimate as reported in the state accounting system…......................................$171,664”

“0950-0050 For the Commission on Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Youth; provided, that funds shall be used to address issues related to the implementation of the state's anti-bullying law (Chapter 92 of the Acts of 2010)……………….…………….$25,000”

And further amend the bill in section 2, by striking out item 0511-0270 and inserting in place thereof the following item-

"0511-0270 For the secretary of state who shall contract with the University of Massachusetts Donahue Institute to provide the commonwealth with technical assistance on United States census data and to prepare annual population estimates provided that all estimate data and reports be made available to the Speaker of the House and Senate President in electronic files and estimate data formatted to be compatible with GIS software..... 500,000

And further amend the bill in section 11, in line 67, by striking “and (7)” and inserting in place thereof the following:

“(7) reduce and simplify paperwork of stage agencies and departments by, wherever possible, adopting uniform forms or federal forms when they are more shorter than the corresponding state form; (8) implement and streamline electronic paperwork options to better facilitate public interaction with state agencies; and (9).”

And further amend the bill by striking outside section 96.

And further amend the bill in section 107, in line 1516, by inserting after the words "New Bedford Armory” the following:-

“Prior to sale, lease, grant, or conveyance of the subject property, the Commissioner shall enter into a historical covenant agreement with the Massachusetts Historical Commission.”

And further amend the bill in Section 107 by adding the following subsection:-

(j) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, prior to offering either of the properties described in subsections (b)(2) and (3) of this section for disposition, the division of capital asset management and maintenance shall notify the city of New Bedford in writing of its intention to dispose of either or both of these properties and shall offer to sell, lease for terms up to 99 years including all renewals and extensions or otherwise grant, convey or transfer to the city an interest in either of those properties, or portions thereof, and shall enter into negotiations with the city to sell, lease for terms up to 99 years including all renewals and extensions or otherwise grant, convey or transfer to the city an interest in either of those properties, or portions thereof, if the division receives written notice from the city of an interest in either property or any portion thereof within ninety days of the date of the city’s receipt of the division’s written notice.

And further amend the bill by adding the following sections:

“Section 4F 1/2. There shall be established and set up a separate account, to be known as the Commonwealth Performance, Accountability, and Transparency Trust , in this section called the trust. The secretary of administration and finance shall expend funds in the trust without further appropriation to support the purposes of the office of commonwealth performance, accountability, and transparency, established by paragraph (f) of section 4A. The comptroller shall annually transfer to the trust, from the indirect costs charged under section 5D of chapter 29, an amount determined by the secretary for these purposes, not exceeding $500,000 plus the one-time costs of any technology determined by the secretary.”

“SECTION XX. Notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law to the contrary, the department of conservation and recreation may enter into a lease agreement or agreements with the North Randolph Little League for property currently under the care and control of the department, the land adjacent to the existing North Randolph Little League field off High Street near the former Nike Missile site in the town of Randolph. The term of any such lease agreement shall be for not less than 20 years. All costs, fees and expenses relating to the care and maintenance for such property shall be paid by the lessee.”

“SECTION XX. Section 12 of chapter 11 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2008 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out the first sentence and inserting in place thereof the following sentences: -

The department of the state auditor shall audit the accounts, programs, activities and functions directly related to the aforementioned accounts of all departments, offices, commissions, institutions, and activities of the commonwealth, including those of districts and authorities created by the general court, and including those of the income tax division of the department of revenue, and for said purpose the authorized officers and employees of said department of the state auditor shall have access to such accounts at reasonable times and said department may require the production of books, documents, vouchers, and other records relating to any matter within the scope of such audit or an audit authorized by section 13, except tax returns. In determining the audit frequency of a covered entity, the department shall consider the materiality, risk, and complexity of the entity’s activities as well as the nature and extent of prior audit findings. Each entity may be audited separately, as a part of a larger organizational entity, or as a part of an audit covering multiple entities; however, in no event will an entity be audited less than once every three years and shall be subject to audit as often as the state auditor determines it necessary.”

SECTION XX. Notwithstanding any general law to the contrary, the secretary of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, in consultation with the commissioner of the division of capital asset management, shall study and assess the current market value of real property under the ownership, possession and control of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, including but not limited to, any land or buildings previously owned by the Massachusetts turnpike authority, and determine whether such assets are surplus to the operation of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, as defined by section 1 of chapter 6C.

SECTION XX. A Special Commission shall be established to study and make recommendations concerning functional overlaps and other redundancies among state agencies and opportunities to promote efficiency and accountability in state government. The Commission shall identify ways to eliminate such overlaps and redundancies and make such other recommendations as the commission deems appropriate, with the goal of reducing costs to the state and enhancing the quality and accessibility of state services to the public. The Commission shall consider merging or consolidating state agencies and programs if such action would reduce costs without adversely impacting the quality of services. The Commission shall also seek to identify opportunities to maximize revenues, such as federal grants and matching funds.

SECTION XX. Members of the Commission shall be determined as follows: (1) Three members to be appointed by the Speaker of the House; (2) Two members to be appointed by the House Minority Leader; (3) Three members to be appointed by the Senate President; (4) Two members to be appointed by the Senate Minority Leader; (5) One member to be appointed by the State Auditor; (6) One member to be appointed by the State Treasurer; (7) Five members to be appointed by the Governor. The Commission shall be bipartisan and may include members of the General Court, members of the executive branch, members of the judicial branch, or outside experts. The Speaker of the House and the Senate President shall determine which two members of the Commission will serve as co-chairpersons.

SECTION XX. The Commission may hold hearings and invite testimony from experts and the public. The Commission shall review and identify best practices learned from undertaking similar efforts in other states, such as Connecticut’s Commission on Enhancing Agency Outcomes which reported its findings and recommendations in December, 2010.

SECTION XX. The agency head and staff of each state agency under consideration by the Commission shall ensure that any data, information or materials that the Commission requests for purposes of its review and deliberations are provided to the Commission in a timely manner.

SECTION XX.

Section 45 of chapter 30 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting in subsection (1), after the words “…and legislative branches…”, the following: - “…in the state ethics commission…”.