A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to establish the joint legislative efficiency and cost‑savings in State Government study commission.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  There is established the Joint Legislative Efficiency and Cost‑Savings in State Government Study Commission. 
SECTION 2.  The Commission shall be composed of 10 members appointed as follows:
(1)	Five Senators appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate.
(2)	Five Representatives appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vacancies on the Commission shall be filled by the appointing authority. The President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall each designate a cochair. A quorum of the Commission shall be a majority of its members.
The Commission may meet at any time upon call of the chairs. The Commission may meet in the Legislative Building or the Legislative Office Building. The Commission may contract for professional, clerical, or consultant services as provided by G.S. 120‑32.02.
The Commission, while in the discharge of its official duties, may exercise all powers provided for under G.S. 120‑19 and G.S. 120‑19.1 through G.S. 120‑19.4, including the power to request all officers, agents, agencies, and departments of the State to provide any information, data, or documents within their possession, ascertainable from their records, or otherwise available to them, and the power to subpoena witnesses and documents.
The Director of the Fiscal Research Division shall provide staff support to assist the Commission in its work. The Director of the Program Evaluation Division shall advise the Commission. The Legislative Services Commission, through the Legislative Services Officer, shall assign other professional staff to assist the Commission in its work. The House of Representatives' and Senate's Directors of Legislative Assistants shall assign clerical staff to the Commission, and the expenses relating to the clerical employees shall be borne by the Commission. Members of the Commission shall receive subsistence and travel expenses at the rates set forth in G.S. 120‑3.1, 138‑5, or 138‑6, as appropriate.
SECTION 3.  The Commission shall use a zero‑based budgeting review process to study whether there are obsolete programs, cost‑reduction opportunities in State government, and any cases where existing funds can be redirected to meet new and changing demands for public services. At its first meeting, the Commission shall determine which agency or agencies to review. The Commission may require any agency under review to submit written information in a form specified by the Commission by a specified time. The Commission may accept or reject any or part of any information submitted and require revision or resubmission.  The Commission may require information as follows:
(1)	Identification of decision units. – The agency shall identify decision units representing any group of services with a common set of objectives or comprising an agency program or administrative support unit.
(2)	Impact of discontinuing each decision unit. – The agency shall provide a quantitative estimate of any adverse impacts that could reasonably be expected should the State discontinue a decision unit, together with a full description of the methods by which the adverse impact is estimated.
(3)	Division of decision units into decision packages. – The agency shall divide each decision unit into the following four discrete decision packages:
a.	Minimum. – A quantitative estimate of any adverse impacts that could reasonably be expected and an itemized account of expenditures that would be required to maintain the activity at the minimum level of service required by any statutory authorization and below which would effectively eliminate all services, together with a concise statement of the resulting quantity and quality of services. This service level shall be below the level described by sub‑subdivision b. of this subdivision.
b.	Reduced. – A quantitative estimate of any adverse impacts that could reasonably be expected and an itemized account of expenditures that would be required if funding were reduced by the percentage or amount specified by the Commission below the current level as defined by sub‑subdivision c. of this subdivision and a concise statement of the resulting quantity and quality of services. 
c.	Current. – A quantitative description of benefits from and an itemized account of expenditures that would be required to maintain the activity at the current level of service, together with a full description of the methods by which the current level is determined and a concise statement of the resulting quantity and quality of services.
d.	Enhanced. – A quantitative estimate of benefits that could reasonably be expected and an itemized account of expenditures that would be required to increase the current level of service, together with a full description of the methods by which the enhanced level is estimated and a concise statement of the resulting quantity and quality of services.
(4)	Service delivery alternatives. – For each decision package, a description of alternative methods for delivering services which may include, but not be limited to, shedding one or more services and relying upon the free market for delivery, delegation to another level of government, using Requests for Information or competitive selection to outsource to private for‑profit or nonprofit organizations, in whole or in part, including franchising, assisting or providing incubator arrangements for current State employees to form non‑State organizations to compete for outsourcing opportunities, or through methods used by other states or nations. 
(5)	Ranking. – As instructed by the Commission, a ranking of all decision packages compared with each other without ties. 
SECTION 4.  The Commission shall make an interim report to the 2012 Regular Session of the 2011 General Assembly and shall make a final report to the 2013 General Assembly. The report shall include any proposed legislation. The Commission shall terminate upon filing its final report or upon the convening of the 2013 General Assembly, whichever is earlier.
SECTION 5.  This act is effective when it becomes law.