PRINTER'S NO. 909
No. 749 Session of 2005
INTRODUCED BY BROWNE, O'PAKE, PILEGGI, BOSCOLA AND FERLO, JUNE 13, 2005
REFERRED TO STATE GOVERNMENT, JUNE 13, 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 16 those employees responsible for the savings. 17 (2) Pennsylvania's State employees possess first-hand
1 knowledge of the day-to-day operation of Commonwealth 2 government. Many of these employees who have ideas for 3 improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the programs 4 they administer remain a valuable, yet untapped, resource. 5 (3) The work of the IMPACCT Commission, which was 6 established pursuant to House Resolution 5 of 1995, and the 7 agencies administering the commission's recommendations have 8 proven that government can be restructured and refocused 9 without jeopardizing the effectiveness of government programs 10 or lowering the quality of government services. 11 Section 3. Definitions. 12 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall 13 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the 14 context clearly indicates otherwise: 15 "Award." The State Employee Teamwork Incentive Award 16 established under this act. 17 "Bonus." The prorated portion of an award which is paid to 18 an individual State employee. 19 "Committee." The Legislative Budget and Finance Committee. 20 "Commonwealth agency." An executive agency, independent 21 agency, the General Assembly and each of its officers and 22 agencies or a court or other officer or agency of the unified 23 judicial system. 24 "Eligible employee unit." A part of a Commonwealth agency, 25 including, but not limited to, a bureau, division, office or 26 section. 27 "Eligible State employee." A State employee who works in an 28 eligible employee unit, except for an elected Commonwealth 29 official or an employee of the Legislative Budget and Finance 30 Committee. 20050S0749B0909 - 2 -
1 "Program." The State Employee Teamwork Incentive Program 2 established under this act. 3 Section 4. State Employee Teamwork Incentive Program. 4 The State Employee Teamwork Incentive Program is established 5 to provide financial incentives to groups of State employees who 6 suggest ideas for improving the efficiency and economy of their 7 workplace, the implementation of which results in a budgetary 8 savings for the Commonwealth. The program shall be administered 9 in accordance with this act. 10 Section 5. Award. 11 (a) Establishment of State Employee Teamwork Incentive 12 Award.--The State Employee Teamwork Incentive Award is hereby 13 established and shall be granted to eligible employee units in 14 accordance with this act. 15 (b) Application.--An eligible employee unit may apply for 16 the award by submitting an award application to the head of the 17 Commonwealth agency within which the eligible employee unit is 18 located no later than September 1 of the year immediately 19 following the fiscal year for which the eligible employee unit 20 claims it has generated a budgetary savings. Applications must 21 be submitted in the form specified by the committee and shall 22 include information necessary to demonstrate that a unit- 23 initiated suggestion resulted in budgetary savings, including, 24 but not limited to: 25 (1) a description of the unit-initiated suggestion which 26 was implemented and which resulted in budgetary savings; 27 (2) the applicable appropriation or appropriations from 28 the fiscal year for which the eligible employee unit claims 29 it has generated a budgetary savings, the expenditures 30 therefrom, encumbrances thereon and the amount unencumbered 20050S0749B0909 - 3 -
1 and unexpended; 2 (3) the program activities and accomplishments for the 3 fiscal year for which the eligible employee unit claims it 4 has generated a budgetary savings; and 5 (4) the revenues, expenditures, program activities and 6 accomplishments for the fiscal year immediately preceding and 7 the fiscal year immediately following the fiscal year for 8 which the eligible employee unit claims it has generated a 9 budgetary savings. 10 (c) Commonwealth agency review.-- 11 (1) Upon verification of the accuracy of the information 12 included in an application, the head of the Commonwealth 13 agency in which the eligible employee unit is located shall 14 forward the application to the committee no later than 15 September 30 of the fiscal year immediately following the 16 fiscal year for which the eligible employee unit claims it 17 has generated a budgetary savings. 18 (2) In the event the head of a Commonwealth agency finds 19 that information included in an application is inaccurate or 20 does not demonstrate that an eligible employee unit-initiated 21 suggestion has resulted in a budgetary savings, the head of 22 the Commonwealth agency may not forward the application to 23 the committee, and the application shall be considered 24 rejected. 25 (d) Committee review.--The committee shall review each 26 application submitted by the head of a Commonwealth agency and 27 shall determine the actual budgetary savings and award amount, 28 if any. The committee shall inform the Commonwealth agency of 29 the actual budgetary savings and award amount, not later than 30 November 30. In determining the actual savings, the committee 20050S0749B0909 - 4 -
1 shall satisfy itself that the budgetary savings claimed by the 2 eligible employee unit is real and not merely apparent and that 3 it is not, in whole or in part, the result of: 4 (1) chance; 5 (2) a lowering of the quality of the service rendered; 6 (3) nonrecurrence of expenditures which were single 7 outlay or one-time expenditures in the immediately preceding 8 fiscal year; 9 (4) stockpiling inventories in the immediately preceding 10 fiscal year so as to reduce requirements in the fiscal year 11 for which savings is claimed; 12 (5) substitution of Federal or other funds for programs 13 currently receiving State appropriations; 14 (6) unreasonable postponement of payments of accounts 15 payable until the fiscal year immediately following the 16 fiscal year for which savings is claimed; 17 (7) shifting of expenses to another unit of government; 18 and 19 (8) any other practice, event or device which the 20 committee decides has caused a distortion which makes it 21 falsely appear that a savings or an increase in revenue gains 22 or an increase in level of services has occurred. 23 (e) Amount.--The amount of an award shall be equal to 5% of 24 the actual savings, as determined by the committee. No award 25 shall be greater than $1,000,000. 26 (f) Limitations.--No eligible employee unit shall receive 27 any more than one award for each unit-initiated suggestion. 28 Section 6. Bonus. 29 (a) Amount.--The amount of each bonus resulting from an 30 award shall be equal to the award amount divided by the number 20050S0749B0909 - 5 -
1 of employees in the eligible employee unit receiving the award. 2 (b) Limitation.--No bonus shall be greater than $10,000. 3 (c) Payment.--The agency shall determine the amount of any 4 bonus resulting from an award and pay each bonus no later than 5 December 31 of the fiscal year immediately following the fiscal 6 year in which the budgetary savings were realized and for which 7 the eligible employee unit has received an award. 8 Section 7. Funding. 9 Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, bonus 10 payments shall be charged to the appropriation from which the 11 budgetary savings was realized. 12 Section 8. Effective date. 13 This act shall take effect July 1, 2005, or immediately, 14 whichever is sooner. E2L71MSP/20050S0749B0909 - 6 -