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An Act To Implement the Recommendations of the Government Oversight Committee To Ensure Legislative Review of Reports Submitted by Quasi-independent State Agencies
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  5 MRSA §12023, sub-§3  is enacted to read:
 
3.  Committee review and report.     By March 1st of every second regular session, beginning in 2016, a joint standing committee of the Legislature receiving reports pursuant to subsection 2 shall review the reports received within the past 2 calendar years, and gather additional information as necessary from the submitting entities, to assess whether policies and procedures adopted by a governing body in accordance with section 12022, subsections 3 to 5 are consistent with expectations established in those subsections and whether all reported waivers of competitive procurement and reported contributions made are in compliance with the adopted policies and procedures, including proper justification and documentation. The joint standing committee shall report the results of its review, including any areas that should be reviewed in more depth, to the joint legislative committee established to oversee program evaluation and government accountability matters.
 
SUMMARY
This bill seeks to enhance legislative oversight of quasi-independent state entities by ensuring that joint standing committees of jurisdiction are monitoring the entities' compliance with requirements in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 5, sections 12022 and 12023, and alerting the Government Oversight Committee to any concerns identified. The statutory requirements address expectations for quasi-independent state entities with regard to procurement practices, payments for membership dues and fees, gifts, donations and sponsorships and travel, meal and entertainment expenses. This bill provides for review of those reports by those committees and their communicating to the Government Oversight Committee the results of the reviews and areas identified that should be reviewed in more depth.