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                                                       PRINTER'S NO. 909

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA


SENATE BILL

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.
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     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
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     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.











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