1-1 By: Armbrister S.B. No. 1563 1-2 (In the Senate - Filed March 12, 1999; March 15, 1999, read 1-3 first time and referred to Committee on State Affairs; 1-4 April 23, 1999, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 7, 1-5 Nays 0; April 23, 1999, sent to printer.) 1-6 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-7 AN ACT 1-8 relating to establishing customer service standards and performance 1-9 measures for state agencies. 1-10 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-11 SECTION 1. Subtitle C, Title 10, Government Code, is amended 1-12 by adding Chapter 2113 to read as follows: 1-13 CHAPTER 2113. CUSTOMER SERVICE 1-14 Sec. 2113.001. DEFINITION. In this chapter, "state agency" 1-15 means a department, commission, board, office, or other agency in 1-16 the executive or judicial branch of state government that is 1-17 created under the constitution or a statute of this state. The 1-18 term includes an institution of higher education as defined by 1-19 Section 61.003, Education Code. 1-20 Sec. 2113.002. CUSTOMER SERVICE INPUT. (a) A state agency 1-21 shall create an inventory of external customers for each budget 1-22 strategy listed in the General Appropriations Act for that agency. 1-23 (b) Each agency shall gather information from customers 1-24 using survey or focus groups regarding the quality of service 1-25 delivered by that agency. The information requested must include 1-26 evaluations of an agency's: 1-27 (1) facilities, including the customer's ability to 1-28 access that agency, the office location, signs, and cleanliness; 1-29 (2) staff, including employee courtesy, friendliness, 1-30 and knowledgeability, and whether staff members adequately identify 1-31 themselves to customers by name, including the use of name plates 1-32 or tags for accountability; 1-33 (3) communications, including toll-free telephone 1-34 access, the average time a customer spends on hold, call transfers, 1-35 access to a live person, letters, and electronic mail; 1-36 (4) Internet site, including the ease of use of the 1-37 site, information on the location of the site and the agency, and 1-38 information accessible through the site such as a listing of 1-39 services and programs and who to contact for further information or 1-40 to complain; 1-41 (5) complaint handling process, including whether it 1-42 is easy to file a complaint and whether responses are timely; 1-43 (6) ability to timely serve its customers, including 1-44 the amount of time a customer waits for service in person, by 1-45 phone, by letter, or at a website; and 1-46 (7) brochures or other printed information, including 1-47 the accuracy of that information. 1-48 (c) Not later than June 1 of each even-numbered year, an 1-49 agency shall report on the information gathered under Subsection 1-50 (b) to the Legislative Budget Board and the Governor's Office of 1-51 Budget and Planning. 1-52 Sec. 2113.003. PERFORMANCE MEASURES. The Legislative Budget 1-53 Board shall develop means to measure customer service satisfaction 1-54 and create performance measures for state agencies in this area. 1-55 Sec. 2113.004. INSPECTIONS. The Legislative Budget Board 1-56 and the Governor's Office of Budget and Planning may inspect a 1-57 state agency and analyze its customer service performance by 1-58 sending a customer service evaluator to confidentially pretend to 1-59 be a customer of that agency. 1-60 Sec. 2113.005. TEXAS STAR AWARD. (a) The Legislative 1-61 Budget Board and the Governor's Office of Budget and Planning may 1-62 award the "Texas Star" to a state agency that provides exemplary 1-63 customer service based on the performance measures and standards 1-64 adopted under this chapter. 2-1 (b) The board and the office of budget and planning shall 2-2 conduct an evaluation to determine agencies that may qualify for 2-3 the Texas Star award. The evaluation shall be conducted under the 2-4 procedures outlined in Sections 66-68, Article IX, Chapter 1452, 2-5 Acts of the 75th Legislature, Regular Session, 1997 (the General 2-6 Appropriations Act). 2-7 Sec. 2113.006. CUSTOMER RELATIONS REPRESENTATIVE; COMPACT 2-8 WITH TEXANS. (a) A state agency shall appoint a customer 2-9 relations representative. 2-10 (b) The representative shall: 2-11 (1) coordinate the state agency's customer service 2-12 performance measurement under this chapter; 2-13 (2) gather information and evaluations from the public 2-14 about an agency's customer service; 2-15 (3) respond to customer concerns; and 2-16 (4) establish the agency's compact with Texans under 2-17 Subsection (c). 2-18 (c) Each state agency shall create a "Compact With Texans." 2-19 The compact must be approved by the Governor's Office of Budget and 2-20 Planning. Each Compact With Texans shall set customer service 2-21 standards and describe customer service principles for that agency 2-22 and address: 2-23 (1) the agency's procedures for responding to public 2-24 contacts and complaints; 2-25 (2) applicable licensing and certification procedures; 2-26 and 2-27 (3) customer waiting time for access and service 2-28 delivery and responses to complaints. 2-29 SECTION 2. (a) For purposes of this section, "state agency" 2-30 means a department, commission, board, office, or other agency in 2-31 the executive or judicial branch of government that is created 2-32 under the constitution or a statute of this state. The term 2-33 includes an institution of higher education as defined by Section 2-34 61.003, Education Code. 2-35 (b) The Legislative Budget Board and the Governor's Office 2-36 of Budget and Planning shall prepare a report and file it with the 2-37 lieutenant governor and speaker of the house of representatives not 2-38 later than December 31, 2000. 2-39 (c) The report must include: 2-40 (1) an analysis of each state agency's customer 2-41 service performance standards and ways in which that agency can 2-42 improve its performance; and 2-43 (2) recommendations regarding improving customer 2-44 service by state agencies. 2-45 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 1999, except 2-46 that Section 2113.004, Government Code, as added by this Act, takes 2-47 effect September 1, 2001. 2-48 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the 2-49 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 2-50 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 2-51 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 2-52 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended. 2-53 * * * * *