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Government Operations Interim Committee

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MINUTES OF THE

GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS INTERIM COMMITTEE

Wednesday, April 22, 1998 . 2:00 p.m. . Room 416 State Capitol



Members Present:
    Rep. Jordan Tanner, Chair
    Sen. Robert M. Muhlestein
    Rep. Trisha S. Beck
    Rep. Perry L. Buckner
    Rep. Neal B. Hendrickson
    Rep. Joseph G. Murray
    Rep. Martin R. Stephens
    Rep. Michael R. Styler
    

Members Absent:
    Sen. L. Alma "Al" Mansell, Chair
    Sen. LeRay McAllister
    Sen. Robert C. Steiner
    Rep. Lowell A. Nelson
    
Staff Present:
    Mr. John Q. Cannon,
     Research Analyst
    Mr. John L. Fellows,
     Associate General Counsel
    Ms. Junie G. Anderson,
     Committee Secretary

Note:    A list of others present and handouts distributed are on file in the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel.

1.     Call to Order - Chair Tanner called the meeting to order at 2:14 p.m.

2.    Committee Business _ A handout titled, "Government Operations Committee _ Possible Study Items - 1998," was distributed and Chair Tanner recommended that committee members choose five issues for the committee to study during the 1998 interim.

3.    1998 General Session Review _ John Cannon, Research Analyst, Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel (OLRGC), distributed a chart titled, "Government Operations Interim Committee -- 1997 Committee Bills -- 1998 General Session Action." He discussed the details of the chart.
    
4.    Government Operations Overview _ John Fellows, Associate General Counsel, OLRGC, briefed the committee on the oversight and investigative responsibilities of the committee over executive branch agencies.
    
    Division of Fleet Operations
    
    Steven Saltzgiver, Director, Division of Fleet Operations, gave a slide presentation on the activities and accomplishments of the fleet operations, and issues and challenges facing their division.

    Raylene Ireland, Director, Department of Administrative Services, addressed the issue of the misuse of state vehicles.
    
    Shauna Hatfield, Governor's Office of Planning and Budget, said her office will study the issue of state vehicle usage this summer and present its findings and recommendations at the next legislative session.

    Division of Facilities Construction and Management

    Richard Byfield, Director, Division of Facilities Construction and Management (DFCM), distributed an organizational chart of DFCM showing the reorganization of the division and discussed issues relating to the reorganization. He also discussed the new Capitol Hill Preservation Board that will have authority over all facilities on Capitol Hill. The board will determine office space usage within the Capitol, have oversight of ground management, and will govern the restoration of the Capitol.

    Site Visit _ Elections Office, Room 115, State Capitol

    Kelleen Potter, Director , State Elections Office, gave the committee a tour of the new Elections Office. She discussed current election processes and spoke of future plans and ideas. She raised several issues with the committee, including voting equipment and issues relating to political parties.

    Office of State Debt Collection
    
    Gwen Anderson, Director, Office of State Debt Collection, distributed a handout titled, "The Collection Challenge!!!" She discussed the accomplishments, current functions, responsibilities, and future endeavors of the office. She discussed proposed legislative changes as detailed in the handout.

    Department of Human Resource Management

    Karen Suzuki-Okabe, Executive Director, Department of Human Resource Management, addressed the issues of personnel retention and turnover. She distributed several handouts titled, "Number Of Employees Per Job Code," "Current Employees By Step Within Range," "Terminations In IT Positions," "Turnover Percentage by Agency," "Step Within Range on Termination Date," "Reason for Termination," "Years of Service at Termination," "Age at Termination," and "IT Position Recruitment, Hires & Skills." She specifically discussed the difficulty in retaining information technology employees and distributed a handout titled, "Difficulty in Hiring and Retaining IT Personnel Is a Nation-wide Problem."

5.    Presentation and Discussion of Potential Study Items _ Staff distributed a letter from the chairs of the Utah Tomorrow Strategic Planning Committee requesting that the information contained in the attachments to the letter be used as a resource to prioritize study items for the committee. Members of the committee were asked to prioritize their top five study items from the list distributed at the beginning of the meeting and to return their prioritization to staff.

    MOTION: The meeting adjourned at 5:01 p.m.

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