STATE WEBSITE: INCLUDE EMPLOYEE INFORMATION

House Bill 5015 (H-3) as referred to second committee

Sponsor:  Rep. Ryan Berman

1st Committee:  Oversight

2nd Committee:  Ways and Means

Completed 1-28-20

SUMMARY:

House Bill 5015 would amend the Electronic Open Access to Government Act to require employee salary and general benefit information to be listed on the state’s website, in addition to the information currently required to be posted under that act.

The act requires the Department of Technology, Management, and Budget (DTMB) to include, accessible to the public at no cost, links on the state’s website to the function and contact information for each executive branch department and its major divisions and subunits. Among other things, the act currently requires the information for each department to include a description of the primary functions of each major division or subunit of the department and telephone numbers and email addresses for the public to contact the department, division, or subunit. This information must be updated quarterly.

House Bill 5015 would amend the act to require that the information for each department include a list of the department’s employees that includes the position title, classified or nonclassified civil service distinction, salary, and general benefits information for each employee. The list could not include a name, initials, electronic mail address, Social Security number, phone number, street address, or other information that could be used to identify an employee or an employee’s beneficiary.

The bill would take effect 90 days after its enactment.

MCL 15.451

FISCAL IMPACT:

House Bill 5015 would increase costs for DTMB related to the initial costs of technological changes and the potential need to cover the ongoing cost of an additional full-time employee to administer the quarterly updated list. The Office of Financial Management anticipates that an additional staff member would be needed to satisfy the bill’s requirements. With an additional necessary staff member, the bill is estimated to cost $128,000 in the first year and $110,000 for each subsequent year. The additional $18,000 would be associated with programming costs to collect data from state departments and to publish the information online.

The bill would have no fiscal impact on local units of government.

POSITIONS:

SEIU Local 517M indicated support for the H-3 version of the bill.  (1-16-20)

The following entities indicated opposition to the bill:

            Michigan Corrections Organization (1-16-20)

            Association of State Employees (1-16-20)

            UAW (11-7-19)

            SEIU Michigan State Council (11-7-19)

                                                                                        Legislative Analyst:   Susan Stutzky

                                                                                                Fiscal Analyst:   Michael Cnossen

■ This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan House Fiscal Agency staff for use by House members in their deliberations, and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.