Urgent call for accountability

The expectations we have of representative government are multiform. We expect good roads, excellent schools and our most vulnerable citizens cared for. We yearn for a clean environment, fair labor standards and a friendly business climate. Most of all, we demand that our tax dollars are used wisely. That requires careful oversight.

In 1996, the 117th Maine Legislature eliminated the Maine Sunset Act and replaced it with the Government Evaluation Act. The GEA established a self-evaluation system for the state departments. This new system has proven itself ineffective. In a statutorily required report by the State and Local Government Committee, members stated, “several of the program evaluation reports, prepared by the agencies provided little or no assessment of the agencies progress towards meeting its goals and objectives and the program evaluation reports of several agencies offered more information about emerging issues than they did about the programs for which they are responsible.” (For a complete copy of the State and Local Government Committee report on the GEA, you can call the Office of Policy and Legal Analysis at 287-1670.)

For all practical purposes the current GEA has eliminated all public accountability for state agencies for the past five years. This in combination with the large turnover of legislators (28 termed out in the 120th/38 termed out in the 121st) and the loss of their institutional memory has created far-reaching consequences for public safety and the democratic process.

On Aug. 30, 2001, The Associated Press reported that some of Maine’s elevators had not been inspected for more than 10 years. Recordkeeping was poor, and officials were not even sure which elevators are in operation. Only after the tragic crushing death of a Maryland boy, Joseph Tucker Smith, 8, in a Bethel elevator did the problems with the state elevator inspection program surface. Repeatedly this scenario has plagued state government, from the death of Logan Marr while in foster care, to the staffing shortages in state prisons, the theme is the same, and legislators react to

a crisis after the fact.

The real beneficiaries of this new atmosphere of inexperienced legislators, lack of accountability and loss of institutional memory are special interest groups and executive branch leaders. They hire powerful former legislators to lobby for them. These experienced legislators turned lobbyist know the system; they work closely with key committee members and department heads and know how to forward their agendas.

The financial effects of lack of accountability are also devastating. Each year legislators submit thousands of pieces of new legislation; many creating new programs costing hundreds of millions of dollars in new revenue. Without a program to continually review the efficiency of programs and eliminate waste thus freeing up existing revenue there is only one option – raise taxes and fees.

On Oct. 20, with the support of the Speaker of the House and the Senate president, Reps. Dunlap,

D-Old Town, Trahan, R-Waldoboro, and Sen. Youngblood, R-Brewer, traveled to Florida to learn about one of the nation’s most successful accountability programs, OPPAGA (Office of Program Analysis and Government Accountability).

According to the National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL) publication, “Ensuring the Public Trust,” Maine is only one of six states in the nation without an accountability program. The intent of the 44 programs around the country is to provide objective, independent, professional analysis of state policy and services, to assist legislatures in decision-making, to ensure government accountability and to recommend the best use of public resources.

According to the NCSL, a non-partisan organization representing legislators from around the country, in the last two years, of the 13 states that report to their legislatures, these offices have recommended cost savings of $539 million, $255 million already implemented and more to come. Although this savings is important, the most striking element of

OPPAGA was that they reviewed the legislative intent of programs (like OPPAGA) to insure that the departments are following what the intent of the Legislature was when they were passed. Not only did Florida evaluate state programs, they evaluated every state program and posted those evaluations on the Internet for citizens to view.

When the Florida Legislature wrote the enabling statute-creating OPPAGA they recognized the huge political implications surrounding evaluations that could cut state workers’ jobs and eliminate pet programs of individual legislators. They placed barriers to prevent political revenge that could compromise the fairness of evaluators by giving the director of OPPAGA a four-year term. They gave evaluators subpoena powers to guarantee a quick response to requests for information and enough latitude to provide fair investigations.

During the visit to Florida, the Legislature was in special session to discuss a billion-dollar shortfall. OPPAGA had created a so-called green sheet of all their past evaluations. This green sheet, totaling $2.2 billion, would be the baseline for targeted identified waste and possible cuts in state programs, minimizing collateral damage. A responsible approach to cuts that unfortunately, we do not have in Maine.

During the next two legislative sessions, Maine will be facing budget shortfalls estimated as high as $700 million. Unless things change we will have no research or justification for cuts or tax increases. One can only guess or trust a few legislators and department heads to recommend the proper course of action; an irresponsible approach given the direction first established 225 years ago by our Founding Fathers when they wrote our Constitution.

This commentary was submitted by state Sen. Edward Youngblood, and Reps. A. David Trahan and Matthew Dunlap.