PART QQQQ

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Sec. QQQQ-1. Commission created. The Maine Government Efficiency Commission, referred to in this Part as “the commission,” is created to identify government expenditures that may be eliminated or reduced by consolidating governmental entities, increasing efficiency in the provision of services and eliminating duplication.

Sec. QQQQ-2. Membership; chair. The commission consists of 9 members:

1. Two members of the general public, appointed by the President of the Senate;

2. Two members of the general public, appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives;

3. Two members of the general public, appointed by the minority leader of the Senate;

4. Two members of the general public, appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives; and

5. One member, appointed jointly by the other 8 members, who shall serve as chair and who may vote only in the event of a tie.

The appointing authorities shall make all reasonable efforts to select members who are generally considered experts in the fields of business, finance or government operations and who are supported by the other appointing authorities, the general public and other interested parties. Members may not have any vested interest in State Government such as being recipients of state funds or beneficiaries of state programs and may not be representatives of labor unions.

Sec. QQQQ-3. Appointments; convening of commission. All appointments must be made no later than 30 days following the effective date of this Part. The chair shall call the first meeting of the commission within 20 days of the completion of appointments.

Sec. QQQQ-4. Duties. The commission shall:

1. Analyze state and national reports, including background papers prepared for the Brookings Institution, that identify areas of state and local spending in which Maine's costs are high relative to comparable states;

2. Identify areas of spending in state and local government, especially spending on administration, that could be reduced by consolidation, elimination of duplication, increases in efficiency or other means, excluding reduction in services or programs, with the goal of identifying at least $75,000,000 in spending reductions that are projected to be continuing annual savings; and

3. Develop a plan for restructuring government at all levels so that Maine's overall tax burden will within 10 years fall into the middle of the range of other rural states with similar geographic and demographic characteristics.

Sec. QQQQ-5. Staffing. The commission may enter into a contract with a private organization or consultant to provide administrative and research assistance in carrying out the duties of the commission if outside funds to support such assistance are received pursuant to section 8. The Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability, the Department of Administrative and Financial Services, the Department of Education and the policy institutes of the University of Maine System shall provide assistance requested by the commission to the extent possible within available resources.

Sec. QQQQ-6. Compensation. The members of the commission are entitled to receive reimbursement of necessary expenses for their attendance at authorized meetings of the commission.

Sec. QQQQ-7. Report; implementing legislation. No later than January 2, 2009, the commission shall submit a final report that includes its findings and recommendations, including suggested legislation and an estimate of the reduction in spending that would result from adoption of each recommendation, for presentation to the First Regular Session of the 124th Legislature. The commission shall submit legislation related to its report to the First Regular Session of the 124th Legislature at the time of submission of its report. It is the intent of the Legislature that any legislation submitted to another Legislature by the commission be considered without amendment, except for revenue-neutral amendments.

Sec. QQQQ-8. Funding sources. The commission shall seek outside funds to fully fund all costs of the commission. Contributions to support the work of the commission may not be accepted from any party having pecuniary or other vested interest in the outcome of the matters being studied. Any person, other than a state agency, desiring to make a financial or in-kind contribution must certify to the commission that it has no pecuniary or other vested interest in the outcome of the study. Such a certification must be made in the manner prescribed by the commission. All contributions are subject to approval by the commission. All funds accepted must be forwarded to the commission along with an accounting record that includes the amount of funds, the date the funds were received, from whom the funds were received and the purpose of and any limitation on the use of those funds.

Sec. QQQQ-9. Appropriations and allocations. The following appropriations and allocations are made.

ADMINISTRATIVE AND FINANCIAL SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF

Maine Government Efficiency Commission N040

Initiative: Establishes a base allocation for the Maine Government Efficiency Commission for outside contributions to support the work of the commission.

OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS	2007-08	2008-09
All Other	$0	$500
OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS TOTAL	$0	$500

PART RRRR

Sec. RRRR-1. 5 MRSA §1518-A,  as enacted by PL 2005, c. 2, Pt. A, §4 and affected by §14, is amended to read:

§ 1518-A. Tax Relief Fund for Maine Residents