Outside Section 9

A&F Oversight of Commonwealth Performance and of Access & Opportunity

SECTION 9.   (A) The introductory paragraph of section 4A of chapter 7 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2008 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding the following sentence:- The executive office shall also include an office of access and opportunity and an office of commonwealth performance, accountability, and transparency.

(B) Said section 4A of said chapter 7, as amended by section 8 of chapter 56 of the acts of 2010, is hereby amended by inserting after paragraph (d) the following 2 paragraphs:-
(e) The office of access and opportunity shall be headed by an assistant secretary for access and opportunity, to be appointed by the secretary with the approval of the governor. With the approval of the secretary, the assistant secretary shall take administrative actions, including but not limited to administrative bulletins and other policies, to promote and ensure nondiscrimination and equal opportunity in the policies, services, programs, and activities of executive agencies.
(f) The office of commonwealth performance, accountability, and transparency shall be headed by an assistant secretary for commonwealth performance, accountability, and transparency, to be appointed by the secretary. The office shall:
(1) execute a performance management program throughout the executive department, including within statutory limits for each agency defining missions, creating measurable goals, establishing strategies for achieving them, and relating them to budget development;
(2) monitor and review federal grant applications made on behalf of the commonwealth and coordinate efforts to maximize federal revenue opportunities and oversight of compliance with federal reporting requirements;
(3) ensure transparency of the commonwealth's administration and finance activities, including the operation of the searchable website required by section 14C;
(4) establish and maintain a central intake unit for reports of fraud, waste and abuse;
(5) establish and maintain an economic forecasting and analysis unit to coordinate all spending and revenue forecasting by state agencies;
(6) perform the executive office's duties for privatization contracts under section 54;
(7) have whatever other duties with respect to state agencies that the governor or secretary may assign; and
(8) collaborate with other state agencies, authorities and other entities to carry out these purposes.

(C) The third sentence of the first paragraph of section 4D of said chapter 7 is hereby amended by striking out the figure "4", inserted by section 9 of said chapter 56, and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- 2.

(D) Said chapter 7 is hereby further amended by inserting after section 4F the following section:-
Section 4F 1/2. There shall be established and set up a separate account, to be known as the Commonwealth Performance, Accountability, and Transparency Trust , in this section called the trust. The secretary of administration and finance shall expend funds in the trust without further appropriation to support the purposes of the office of commonwealth performance, accountability, and transparency, established by paragraph (f) of section 4A. The comptroller shall annually transfer to the trust, from the indirect costs charged under section 5D of chapter 29, an amount determined by the secretary for these purposes, not exceeding $500,000 plus the one-time costs of any technology determined by the secretary.
 
 

Summary:
This section establishes within A&F, and defines the missions of, the Offices of Access and Opportunity and of Government Performance, Accountability, and Transparency.