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An Act To Implement Recommendations of the Government Oversight Committee To Improve the Efficiency and Effectiveness of Legislative Reviews of Tax Expenditures
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 3 MRSA §998, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 2015, c. 344, §4, is amended to read:
 
2. Schedule.  By October 1, 2015, theThe committee, in consultation with the policy committee, shall establish a prioritized schedule of ongoing review of the tax expenditures assigned to the full evaluation and expedited review categories pursuant to subsection 1, paragraphs A and B. To the extent practicable, the committee shall schedulegroup the review of tax expenditures with similar goals during the same yeartogether.
Sec. 2. 3 MRSA §999, sub-§1, ¶A, as enacted by PL 2015, c. 344, §4, is amended to read:
 
A. By January 31st of each yearPrior to the beginning of each evaluation, the committee, after consideration of recommendations from the office, shall approve the following for each tax expenditure subject to full evaluation review in that year:
 
(1) The purposes, intent or goals of the tax expenditure, as informed by original legislative intent as well as subsequent legislative and policy developments and changes in the state economy and fiscal condition;
 
(2) The intended beneficiaries of the tax expenditure;
 
(3) The evaluation objectives, which may include an assessment of:
 
(a) The fiscal impact of the tax expenditure, including past and estimated future impacts;
 
(b) The extent to which the design of the tax expenditure is effective in accomplishing the tax expenditure's purposes, intent or goals and consistent with best practices;
 
(c) The extent to which the tax expenditure is achieving its purposes, intent or goals, taking into consideration the economic context, market conditions and indirect benefits;
 
(d) The extent to which those actually benefiting from the tax expenditure are the intended beneficiaries;
 
(e) The extent to which it is likely that the desired behavior might have occurred without the tax expenditure, taking into consideration similar tax expenditures offered by other states;
 
(f) The extent to which the State's administration of the tax expenditure, including enforcement efforts, is efficient and effective;
 
(g) The extent to which there are other state or federal tax expenditures, direct expenditures or other programs that have similar purposes, intent or goals as the tax expenditure, and the extent to which such similar initiatives are coordinated, complementary or duplicative;
 
(h) The extent to which the tax expenditure is a cost-effective use of resources compared to other options for using the same resources or addressing the same purposes, intent or goals; and
 
(i) Any opportunities to improve the effectiveness of the tax expenditure in meeting its purposes, intent or goals; and
 
(4) The performance measures appropriate for analyzing the evaluation objectives. Performance measures must be clear and relevant to the specific tax expenditure and the approved evaluation objectives.
Sec. 3. 3 MRSA §999, sub-§§2 and 3, as enacted by PL 2015, c. 344, §4, are amended to read:
 
2. Action by office; report.  By December 31st of each year, beginning in 2016, theThe office shall complete the tax expenditure evaluations pursuant to subsection 1 scheduled for that year and submit a report on the results of each evaluation to the committee and the policy committee. The office shall seek stakeholder input as part of the report. For each tax expenditure evaluated, the report must include conclusions regarding the extent to which the tax expenditure is meeting its purposes, intent or goals and may include recommendations for continuation or repeal of the tax expenditure or modification of the tax expenditure to improve its performance.
 
3. Action by committee.   The committee shall review the report submitted by the office under subsection 2, assess the report's objectivity and credibility and vote whether to endorse the report. By June 1st of each year, beginning in 2017, theThe committee shall submit a record of the vote on the reportany reports submitted by the office and any comments of or actions recommended by the committee to the policy committee for its review and consideration.
 
SUMMARY
This bill is submitted pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 3, section 1001, subsection 2. The purpose of this bill is to make changes to the law to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of tax expenditure evaluations conducted by the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability, or OPEGA, for the Legislature. The bill removes statutory deadlines to provide more flexibility in scheduling, completion and reporting on full evaluations to allow for a better fit with legislative schedules and to ensure OPEGA can complete a comprehensive and quality review of each program, within OPEGA's available capacity.