SRC-ARR S.B. 1563 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Senate Research Center S.B. 1563 76R7568 MXM-DBy: Armbrister State Affairs 4/19/1999 As Filed DIGEST Currently, Texas law does provide for customer service standards and performance measures for state agencies. Governments around the would are focusing on improving customer service by setting standards for performance, redressing procedures, and gathering input from the public. Sixtyfour percent of Texans surveyed rated government customer services either as excellent or good and 36 percent rated its service fair or bad. S.B. 1563 would establish customer service standards and performance measures for state agencies. PURPOSE As proposed, S.B. 1563 establishes customer services standards and performance measures for state agencies. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY This bill does not grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Title 10C, 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 delivery by that agency. Requires the information requested to include evaluations of certain operations of an agency. Requires an agency not later than a certain date, to report on the information gathered under Subsection (b) to the Legislative Budget Board (LBB) and the governor's office of budget and planning. Sec. 2113.003. PERFORMANCE MEASURES. Requires the LBB to develop means to measure customer service satisfaction and create performance measures for state agencies in this area. Sec. 2113.004. INSPECTIONS. Authorizes the 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 the 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 the 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 take certain actions. Requires each state agency to create a "Compact With Texans" (compact). Requires the compact to 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 certain issues. SECTION 2. Defines "state agency." Requires the 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. Requires the report to include certain information. SECTION 3. Effective date: September 1, 1999, except that Section 2113.004, Government Code, as added by this Act, takes effect September 1, 2001. SECTION 4. Emergency clause.