HBA-TYH S.B. 1563 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisS.B. 1563 By: Armbrister State Affairs 5/7/1999 Engrossed BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, Texas law sets customer service standards and performance measures for state agencies. Governments around the world are focusing on improving customer service by setting standards for performance, redressing procedures, and gathering input from the public. Sixty-four percent of Texans who were surveyed rated government customer services as either excellent or good, and 36 percent rated government customer services as either fair or bad. S.B. 1563 establishes customer service standards and performance measures for state agencies. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Subtitle C, Title 10, Government Code, by adding Chapter 2113, as follows: CHAPTER 2113. CUSTOMER SERVICE Sec. 2113.001. DEFINITION. Defines "state agency." Sec. 2113.002. CUSTOMER SERVICE INPUT. Requires a state agency (agency) to create an inventory of external customers for each budget strategy listed in the General Appropriations Act for that agency. Requires each agency to gather information from customers using survey or focus groups regarding the quality of service delivered by that agency. Provides that the information requested must include evaluations of an agency's facilities, staff, communications, Internet site, complaint handling process, ability to timely serve its customers, and brochures or other printed information. Requires an agency, not later than June 1 of each even-numbered year, to report on the information gathered under this section to the Legislative Budget Board (LBB) and the governor's office of budget and planning. Sec. 2113.003. PERFORMANCE MEASURES. Requires LBB to develop means to measure customer service satisfaction and create performance measures for state agencies in this area. Sec. 2113.004. INSPECTIONS. Authorizes LBB and the governor's office of budget and planning to inspect a state agency and analyze its customer service performance by sending a customer service evaluator to confidentially pretend to be a customer of that agency. Sec. 2113.005. TEXAS STAR AWARD. Authorizes LBB and the governor's office of budget and planning to award the "Texas Star" to a state agency that provides exemplary customer service based on the performance measures and standards adopted under this chapter. Requires LBB and the governor's office of budget and planning to conduct an evaluation to determine agencies that may qualify for the Texas Star award. Requires the evaluation to be conducted under the procedures outlined in the General Appropriations Act. Sec. 2113.006. CUSTOMER RELATIONS REPRESENTATIVE; COMPACT WITH TEXANS. Requires a state agency to appoint a customer relations representative. Requires the representative to coordinate the state agency's customer service performance measurement, gather information and evaluations from the public about an agency's customer service, respond to customer concerns, and establish the agency's compact with Texans under this section. Requires each state agency to create a "Compact With Texans" (compact). Provides that the compact must be approved by the governor's office of budget and planning. Requires each compact to set customer service standards and describe customer service principles for that agency and address the enumerated issues. SECTION 2. Defines "state agency." Requires LBB and the governor's office of budget and planning to prepare a report and file it with the lieutenant governor and speaker of the house of representatives not later than December 31, 2000. Provides that the report must include recommendations regarding improving customer service by state agencies and an analysis of each state agency's customer service performance standards and ways in which the agency can improve its performance. SECTION 3. Provides that this Act takes effect September 1, 1999, except that Section 2113.004, Government Code, as added by this Act, takes effect September 1, 2001. SECTION 4. Emergency clause.