NEW BILL THAT CALLS FOR MORE PERFORMANCE BASED BUDGETING PASSES THE SENATE
JACKSON – Mississippi’s push to adopt a more efficient budgeting system cleared its first hurdle Thursday, passing the Senate with only 1 dissenting vote.
The bill would institute Smart Budget, a performance-based budgeting system where resources are allocated based on results.
Lt. Governor Phil Bryant and a panel of state leaders, known as the Commission for a New Mississippi, authored a report late last year that recommended Mississippi to adopt a performance-based budget. Bryant said he’s excited at the prospect of a sleeker, more efficient government.
“I have said before that the biggest policy decision government ever makes is when it builds a budget,” Bryant said. “Making decisions on how to fund so many important functions of government is a demanding task that would benefit from a performance-based system.”
Mississippi has technically had performance-based budgeting on the books for years, but it was never used. The report by the Commission for a New Mississippi uses the Texas budget process as a model system bringing strategic planning and performance together in the state’s appropriations process. It further encourages state government to be mission driven and goal oriented.
The purpose of the performance budgeting process is to require budget decisions to be made based on whether state agencies are accomplishing expected results.
“Rather than keep budgeting the same way we’ve always done it, we need to look to the future, and that better way is performance based budgeting,” Bryant said. “The key is results. Departments are allocated money with specific goals in mind. Simply, this process is an effort to provide more accountability for the taxpayers’ money.”
This legislation, would further require the creation of a statewide and agency-level strategic plans to give clear and comprehensive direction for government to meet the needs of the citizens of the State. The plan focuses on the key roles of government, necessary services for our citizens, and the outcomes we expect when we expend scarce resources.
The new legislation gives the Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review (PEER) Committee oversight in implementing and operating systematic and continuous improvement programs based on statewide strategic planning and performance budgeting. The PEER staff would also be charged with serving as a resource for state agencies in developing their strategic plans, and assuring that agency plans align with the statewide plan.
Blake Wilson, President of the Mississippi Economic Council said, “This is another step toward putting Mississippi in a place of greater opportunity. Companies look to states that follow a business like model. This is good not only for state government but for economic development as well.”
Senate Bill 2816 will now head to the Mississippi House of Representatives for consideration.
SB 2816 comes from a report issued by the Commission for a New Mississippi. Governor Haley Barbour requested for Lt. Governor Bryant to form that commission to evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of state government. The commission consisted of 17 members and was chaired by the former Department of Finance and Administration director, J.K. Stringer, Jr. The commission reviewed reports that chronicled and analyzed how the state’s government operated for the past 80 years. The commission also investigated best practices in other states.
The report can be viewed at www.ltgovbryant.com/newms.
Magnolia Tribune
