See other bills
under the
same topic
                                                      PRINTER'S NO. 1253

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA


HOUSE BILL

No. 1091 Session of 2005


        INTRODUCED BY BROWNE, BALDWIN, BELFANTI, CALTAGIRONE, CAPPELLI,
           CAWLEY, CREIGHTON, DALLY, DENLINGER, DeWEESE, FAIRCHILD,
           FORCIER, GEIST, GINGRICH, GOOD, HARPER, HENNESSEY, HERSHEY,
           JAMES, W. KELLER, LEDERER, LEH, LEVDANSKY, McGEEHAN,
           McILHATTAN, S. MILLER, O'NEILL, READSHAW, ROHRER, ROSS,
           SAINATO, SAYLOR, SEMMEL, STERN, E. Z. TAYLOR, THOMAS, TIGUE,
           WHEATLEY, WILT AND WOJNAROSKI, MARCH 24, 2005

        REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, MARCH 24, 2005

                                     AN ACT

     1  Providing for State employee incentives, awards, bonuses and
     2     funding.

     3     The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
     4  hereby enacts as follows:
     5  Section 1.  Short title.
     6     This act shall be known and may be cited as the State
     7  Employee Teamwork Incentive Program Act.
     8  Section 2.  Declaration of policy.
     9     The General Assembly finds and declares as follows:
    10         (1)  The private sector and many other states have
    11     initiated employee reward programs in an attempt to generate
    12     money-saving ideas. One type of employee reward program,
    13     known as gainsharing or team-based pay, recognizes employee
    14     efficiency and teamwork by evenly distributing a small
    15     percentage of budget savings, in the form of bonuses, to


     1     those employees responsible for the savings.
     2         (2)  Pennsylvania's State employees possess first-hand
     3     knowledge of the day-to-day operation of Commonwealth
     4     government. Many of these employees who have ideas for
     5     improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the programs
     6     they administer remain a valuable, yet untapped, resource.
     7         (3)  The work of the IMPACCT Commission, which was
     8     established pursuant to House Resolution 5 of 1995, and the
     9     agencies administering the commission's recommendations have
    10     proven that government can be restructured and refocused
    11     without jeopardizing the effectiveness of government programs
    12     or lowering the quality of government services.
    13  Section 3.  Definitions.
    14     The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
    15  have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
    16  context clearly indicates otherwise:
    17     "Award."  The State Employee Teamwork Incentive Award
    18  established under this act.
    19     "Bonus."  The prorated portion of an award which is paid to
    20  an individual State employee.
    21     "Committee."  The Legislative Budget and Finance Committee.
    22     "Commonwealth agency."  An executive agency, independent
    23  agency, the General Assembly and each of its officers and
    24  agencies or a court or other officer or agency of the unified
    25  judicial system.
    26     "Eligible employee unit."  A part of a Commonwealth agency,
    27  including, but not limited to, a bureau, division, office or
    28  section.
    29     "Eligible State employee."  A State employee who works in an
    30  eligible employee unit, except for an elected Commonwealth
    20050H1091B1253                  - 2 -     

     1  official or an employee of the Legislative Budget and Finance
     2  Committee.
     3     "Program."  The State Employee Teamwork Incentive Program
     4  established under this act.
     5  Section 4.  State Employee Teamwork Incentive Program.
     6     The State Employee Teamwork Incentive Program is established
     7  to provide financial incentives to groups of State employees who
     8  suggest ideas for improving the efficiency and economy of their
     9  workplace, the implementation of which results in a budgetary
    10  savings for the Commonwealth. The program shall be administered
    11  in accordance with this act.
    12  Section 5.  Award.
    13     (a)  Establishment of State Employee Teamwork Incentive
    14  Award.--The State Employee Teamwork Incentive Award is hereby
    15  established and shall be granted to eligible employee units in
    16  accordance with this act.
    17     (b)  Application.--An eligible employee unit may apply for
    18  the award by submitting an award application to the head of the
    19  Commonwealth agency within which the eligible employee unit is
    20  located no later than September 1 of the year immediately
    21  following the fiscal year for which the eligible employee unit
    22  claims it has generated a budgetary savings. Applications must
    23  be submitted in the form specified by the committee and shall
    24  include information necessary to demonstrate that a unit-
    25  initiated suggestion resulted in budgetary savings, including,
    26  but not limited to:
    27         (1)  a description of the unit-initiated suggestion which
    28     was implemented and which resulted in budgetary savings;
    29         (2)  the applicable appropriation or appropriations from
    30     the fiscal year for which the eligible employee unit claims
    20050H1091B1253                  - 3 -     

     1     it has generated a budgetary savings, the expenditures
     2     therefrom, encumbrances thereon and the amount unencumbered
     3     and unexpended;
     4         (3)  the program activities and accomplishments for the
     5     fiscal year for which the eligible employee unit claims it
     6     has generated a budgetary savings; and
     7         (4)  the revenues, expenditures, program activities and
     8     accomplishments for the fiscal year immediately preceding and
     9     the fiscal year immediately following the fiscal year for
    10     which the eligible employee unit claims it has generated a
    11     budgetary savings.
    12     (c)  Commonwealth agency review.--
    13         (1)  Upon verification of the accuracy of the information
    14     included in an application, the head of the Commonwealth
    15     agency in which the eligible employee unit is located shall
    16     forward the application to the committee no later than
    17     September 30 of the fiscal year immediately following the
    18     fiscal year for which the eligible employee unit claims it
    19     has generated a budgetary savings.
    20         (2)  In the event the head of a Commonwealth agency finds
    21     that information included in an application is inaccurate or
    22     does not demonstrate that an eligible employee unit-initiated
    23     suggestion has resulted in a budgetary savings, the head of
    24     the Commonwealth agency may not forward the application to
    25     the committee, and the application shall be considered
    26     rejected.
    27     (d)  Committee review.--The committee shall review each
    28  application submitted by the head of a Commonwealth agency and
    29  shall determine the actual budgetary savings and award amount,
    30  if any. The committee shall inform the Commonwealth agency of
    20050H1091B1253                  - 4 -     

     1  the actual budgetary savings and award amount, not later than
     2  November 30. In determining the actual savings, the committee
     3  shall satisfy itself that the budgetary savings claimed by the
     4  eligible employee unit is real and not merely apparent and that
     5  it is not, in whole or in part, the result of:
     6         (1)  chance;
     7         (2)  a lowering of the quality of the service rendered;
     8         (3)  nonrecurrence of expenditures which were single
     9     outlay or one-time expenditures in the immediately preceding
    10     fiscal year;
    11         (4)  stockpiling inventories in the immediately preceding
    12     fiscal year so as to reduce requirements in the fiscal year
    13     for which savings is claimed;
    14         (5)  substitution of Federal or other funds for programs
    15     currently receiving State appropriations;
    16         (6)  unreasonable postponement of payments of accounts
    17     payable until the fiscal year immediately following the
    18     fiscal year for which savings is claimed;
    19         (7)  shifting of expenses to another unit of government;
    20     and
    21         (8)  any other practice, event or device which the
    22     committee decides has caused a distortion which makes it
    23     falsely appear that a savings or an increase in revenue gains
    24     or an increase in level of services has occurred.
    25     (e)  Amount.--The amount of an award shall be equal to 5% of
    26  the actual savings, as determined by the committee. No award
    27  shall be greater than $1,000,000.
    28     (f)  Limitations.--No eligible employee unit shall receive
    29  any more than one award for each unit-initiated suggestion.
    30  Section 6.  Bonus.
    20050H1091B1253                  - 5 -     

     1     (a)  Amount.--The amount of each bonus resulting from an
     2  award shall be equal to the award amount divided by the number
     3  of employees in the eligible employee unit receiving the award.
     4     (b)  Limitation.--No bonus shall be greater than $10,000.
     5     (c)  Payment.--The agency shall determine the amount of any
     6  bonus resulting from an award and pay each bonus no later than
     7  December 31 of the fiscal year immediately following the fiscal
     8  year in which the budgetary savings were realized and for which
     9  the eligible employee unit has received an award.
    10  Section 7.  Funding.
    11     Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, bonus
    12  payments shall be charged to the appropriation from which the
    13  budgetary savings was realized.
    14  Section 8.  Effective date.
    15     This act shall take effect July 1, 2005, or immediately,
    16  whichever is sooner.










    B17L71DMS/20050H1091B1253        - 6 -