Past Texas Performance Review Recommendations

Challenging the Status Quo (1999)

The 1999 Legislature enacted a Texas Performance Review proposal to require the General Service Commission's office of vehicle fleet management to develop a state vehicle fleet management program that will include the outsourcing of operation and management where appropriate. (This recommendation had been offered four times in the past.)

Another proposal resulted in a special rider in the General Appropriations Act to allows the Comptroller to reduce most agencies' appropriations, under specific conditions, by 0.7 to 1.25 percent in an effort to control the growth of government.

The Legislature did not adopt two other proposals. One suggested permitting the to purchase equipment maintenance insurance and convert conventional equipment repair and maintenance contracts to time-and-materials contracts where appropriate.

The other would have encouraged land-owning state agencies to become better property managers and would have allowed the General Land Office more authority to dispose of underutilized lands.

Disturbing the Peace (1997)

The performance review suggested all Permanent School Fund (PSF) investments should be directed by a new Texas Permanent School Fund Management Company, instead of the State Board of Education and its chosen external managers. The Legislature did not adopt the recommendation.

The1997 Legislature also did adopt a proposal, which would have required the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) to sell some of its underutilized lands. Appropriations for TDCJ, however, were reduced by $8.5 million over the biennium, to encourage TDCJ to recoup that money through land sales. The venture was ultimately unsuccessful, however, because TDCJ was re-appropriated those funds during the 1999 Legislature.

Gaining Ground (1995)

In the constitutional amendment election of 1995, voters approved what had started as a TPR suggestion. TPR had recommended revoking the state's authorization of bond debt for the National Research Laboratory Commission and the Capitol renovation project, administered by the State Preservation Board. The reason for revoking the bond debt was that such debt had a negative effect on the state's bond rating.

The laboratory commission oversaw the Superconducting Supercollider, which became defunct when Congress killed the project. An Attorney General's opinion invalidated legislation allowing bond finance of the Capitol renovation project because the Capitol could not generate a revenue stream to pay off the debt.

The performance review had less success with other major asset and finance issues. Proposals to require state universities to dispose of surplus property in the same manner as other state property, improve the availability of state surplus property, authorize the Texas Public Finance Authority to issue bonds for more agencies, and improve vehicle fleet management were either not introduced or not adopted.

Against the Grain (1993)

The Legislature enacted many of the asset and finance-related recommendations. Some were as simple as establishing a single identification number for entities doing business with the state, while others were as complex as suggesting the Texas Public Finance Authority use the interest and sinking fund balances to pay debt service on general obligation bonds instead of relying on general revenue appropriations to pay off the debt.

The Legislators also agreed with TPR's proposals to increase federal reimbursements for indirect costs incurred by the Texas Department of Human Services, to reengineer the state's procurement process and eliminate duplication, and transfer the Texas Surplus Property Agency to the General Services Commission.

Breaking the Mold (1991)

The first performance review saw a dozen or more significant asset or financial management proposals enacted into law. One allowed the Permanent School Fund's managers to distribute certain net realized capital gains to the Available School Fund under certain conditions, instead of returning the gains to the fund's corpus or not recognizing the gain.

The Legislature also agreed to reduce the state's contributions to the Employees Retirement System and the Teacher's Retirement System, but within the limits of actuarial soundness, saving the state hundreds of millions of dollars over five years.

Another proposal made ERS and TRS administrative expenses subject to appropriations instead of being financed using investment revenue or earned interest. The Legislature also agreed to require state agencies to coordinate their debt collection efforts with the Office of the Attorney General and do a better job of managing their vehicle fleets (CG-4) and facilities.