New committee to focus on government efficiency

HELENA — A new committee approved by the Legislature is set to begin work next month with a focus on increasing efficiency in government.

Earlier this year state lawmakers voted to establish the Select Committee on Efficiency in Government 2011-2012, an interim committee to look for efficiencies in four areas of government: budgeting, health care, technology, and natural resources. The committee was allocated $100,000 for the biennium.

Committee Chairman Sen. Jon Sonju, R-Kalispell, said he thinks the money spent on the panel will pay off for taxpayers.

“It’s my intention to return those dollars back to the taxpayers through this,” Sonju said.

Fellow committee member Sen. Jim Keane, D-Butte, said he isn’t certain how much, if any, money the committee might be able to save taxpayers.

“We haven’t met yet,” Keane said in a telephone interview with Montana Watchdog. “I’m not sure until after we meet.”

Keane said government does a lot of good things, and specifically highlighted government operations in Montana.

“If you look at the revenue coming into the state, we’re awash in money now,” Keane said. “It never hurts to look for efficiency in government.”

House Bill 642, which established the committee, passed by comfortable margins in both the House and Senate. The 12-member committee is evenly split between Democrats and Republicans.

“We’re not here to make political points,” Sonju said.

The chairman said that while technology is one area outlined for study, that topic will play a key role in all the work the committee does.

“Technology is kind of the umbrella,” for all the topics, he said. “How can technology improve and move Montana forward?”

The first meeting is scheduled for Aug. 22-23 at Flathead Valley Community College in Kalispell. An agenda posted on the state website calls for panel discussions on technology and Medicaid as well as time for public comment.

 “I encourage anybody and everybody to come address their government,” Sonju said. “All meetings will allow for public comment.”

Sonju said the committee likely will meet around 10 times during the interim on an every-other-month basis. Specifically, he said the committee intends to hold a number of meetings outside the Helena area to give more people a chance to attend and provide comment.

Montana Watchdog operates as an independent news-gathering organization that shares its research and findings with the public and other media organizations. It is a branch of the Montana Policy Institute, a nonpartisan policy research center and an associate member of the Montana Newspaper Association. Visit www.montanawatchdog.org