Sec. 4-67f. State agency projects to reduce costs and increase efficiencies. Employee awards. Innovations review panel. Savings realized.
               	 		
      Sec. 4-67f. State agency projects to reduce costs and increase efficiencies. Employee awards. Innovations review panel. Savings realized. (a) The Secretary of the 
Office of Policy and Management shall establish a program for the purpose of financing 
state agency projects to reduce costs and increase efficiencies through capital investment, including, but not limited to, projects to use new technologies, improved equipment and energy efficiency measures. Any state agency may submit a request for such 
funding to the secretary.
      (b) The secretary shall establish a program for the purpose of allocation of awards 
to individual state employees or groups of state employees who present ideas for innovations within their agencies which improve the delivery of services or reduce agency 
costs.
      (c) There is established an innovations review panel consisting of the Secretary of 
the Office of Policy and Management or his designee, two representatives of state agencies selected by the secretary, two representatives of collective bargaining units representing state employees selected by the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition 
and five public members, including at least two representatives of the business community. The Governor, president pro tempore of the Senate, minority leader of the Senate, 
speaker of the House of Representatives and minority leader of the House of Representatives shall each appoint one such public member. Said panel shall review and evaluate 
requests for funding for projects and awards pursuant to subsections (a) and (b) of this 
section and recommend projects and awards to the secretary.
      (d) Not later than June 30, 1995, and annually thereafter, the innovations review 
panel shall identify and quantify the savings realized through the implementation of 
employee recommendations sponsored by the panel, and the Secretary of the Office of 
Policy and Management shall certify the accuracy of such quantification. On July 1, 
1995, and annually thereafter, fifty per cent of the unexpended savings realized during 
the preceding fiscal year through the implementation of an employee recommendation 
sponsored by the innovations review panel shall accrue to the agency which implemented the recommendation, provided such savings (1) shall so accrue only for the first 
year of the project, and (2) shall not exceed two million dollars in the aggregate for any 
one agency in any year.
      (May Sp. Sess. P.A. 92-7, S. 2, 36; P.A. 94-70.)
      History: P.A. 94-70 added Subsec. (d) re savings realized through implementation of employee recommendations 
sponsored by the panel.
      See Sec. 5-263a re state employees' suggestion awards program.