DES MOINES – Governor Chet Culver announced at today’s AP Pre-Legislative Seminar that he signed Executive Order 20, which will enact the Executive Branch cost-saving recommendations in the Iowa Efficiency Review. The savings enacted have the potential to save the state over $700 million over five years, and fall under his authority as Governor.

Governor Culver commissioned the review to identify potential cost savings through efficiency gains. The Executive Order will implement 40 of the recommendations. Other measures included in the report will require legislative action, and some recommendations are under further review.

“These are common-sense solutions to finding cost savings and efficiency in state government,” said Governor Chet Culver. “I want to make clear that this is just the beginning in our efforts to reform state government and find efficiencies in every state department.”

The text of Executive Order 20 follows:

EXECUTIVE ORDER NUMBER 20

WHEREAS, the people of Iowa expect that their state government will efficiently provide services and will be accountable in the use of taxpayer dollars; and

WHEREAS, great fiscal challenges face state government as the result of expenses caused by unprecedented natural disasters and a severe international recession caused by reckless acts by Wall Street speculators; and

WHEREAS,  these expectations and challenges require changes in the ways that state government agencies conduct business, including the elimination of costly and inefficient practices and the creation of new and better ways to serve the people of the state; and

WHEREAS, innovative, efficient and dynamic ways to govern state agencies can be achieved best when skilled and dedicated governmental employees are challenged to improve the operations and accountability of their workplaces; and

WHEREAS, the Culver-Judge Administration engaged with its own employees, has communicated with members of the Iowa General Assembly, and has retained outside expertise to identify areas of state government operations that can be improved to make the delivery of needed services more cost-effective and more accountable to the people of Iowa; and

WHEREAS, those processes have resulted in the “Iowa Efficiency Review Report,” which presents a series of recommendations that, if entirely implemented, will result in at least $340 million dollars of real savings within the first year, while improving the delivery and transparency of state government services; and

WHEREAS, some of those recommendations may be implemented now, by means of executive agency action, rather than by awaiting action and approval from the Iowa General Assembly; and

WHEREAS, given the reasonableness of the public’s expectations and the enormity of the fiscal challenges facing our state, it is both prudent and necessary that those recommendations that can be implemented without need for statutory changes should now be implemented:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Chester J Culver, Governor of the State of Iowa, by virtue of the power and authority vested in me by the Constitution and statutes of the State of Iowa, do hereby issue this Executive Order, to become effective immediately:

1. The Directors of the Department of Administrative Services (DAS) and the Department of Management (DOM), working with affected state government agencies, shall jointly identify and implement a series of practical measures, which shall include, but not necessarily be limited to, those measures outlined in the Iowa Efficiency Review Report that do not require legislative action,  to improve state agency performance of programs and operations, to reduce total costs of state government operations, to increase productivity, to improve services and to make state government more responsive and accountable to the public.
2. The measures identified pursuant to paragraph 1, above, shall be implemented by DAS and DOM and shall include, but shall not necessarily be limited to, the following:
   1. Consolidate Information Technology (IT) planning and operations to the extent reasonably possible;
   2. Consolidate all state e-mail systems;
   3. Consolidate wireless equipment purchasing and service contracts;
   4. Negotiate statewide IT technology service contract;
   5. Negotiate statewide IT and office equipment maintenance contracts:
   6. Increase the use of new technologies such as Thin Client Technologies:
   7. Reduce the size of the state motor vehicle fleet and change mileage and take-home policies:
   8. Consolidate Department of Natural Resources (DNR) offices in Des Moines;
   9. Require state agency purchasing from master contracts;
   10. Improve the state’s debt collection practices;
   11. Join multi-state lawsuit on escheat of unclaimed U.S. Bonds;
   12. Strengthen Medicaid integrity efforts;
   13. Ensure that Iowa is getting the best purchase prices for required Medicaid medical equipment;
   14. Modify the Medicaid Durable Medical Equipment rental versus purchase policies;
   15. Update Nursing Home Recoverable Cost Regulations to assure that the state’s financial interests are fully protected;
   16. Claim federal reimbursement for eligible inmate hospital care;
   17. Modify Medicaid prescription drug purchasing;
   18. Reinstate the use of telemedicine services between the Department of Corrections and the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics;
   19. Modify child support and recovery funding;
   20. Increase the Juvenile Court Services’ claims for Title IV-E reimbursement;
   21. Claim Title IV-E reimbursements for eligible placements and license all relative homes;
   22. Eliminate the least efficient state print shops;
   23. Consolidate administrative functions at DHS institutions;
   24. Modify and simplify the entrepreneurial model;
   25. Modify warehouse policies to take advantage of the newest techniques to reduce costs;
   26. Consolidate state agency mailrooms and modify mail delivery policies;
   27. Reduce spending on periodicals and subscriptions;
   54. Reduce architecture, engineering and attorney contracts when cost-benefit ratios indicate that the state can perform the work at reduced costs;
   81. Require state employees to pay for safety courses when they have been required due to employees’ driving violations;
   108. Reduce the number of Human Resource staff members in agencies and departments;
   135. Expand the use of state garages to reduce the costs of contracted private garages;
   162. Conduct energy efficiency retrofits for state buildings;
   189. Require newly-hired state employees to use payroll direct deposit;
   216. Conduct an audit of state employee health insurance enrollees to identify ineligible dependents;
   243. Improve the coordination of law enforcement at state parks;
   270. Increase the number of volunteer and intern programs at state parks;
   297. Accelerate assessments for compliance violations under Iowa’s Workers’ Compensation Law;
   324. Improve collection processes for Unemployment Taxes;
   351. Encourage larger state agencies to support budget, accounting and pre-audit services for smaller state agencies;

3. The Directors of DAS and DOM, working with affected state government agencies, shall further analyze and evaluate for potential savings and revenue generation opportunities which matters shall include, but shall not necessarily be limited to, the following:

   1. Launch Employee Wellness Initiatives;
   2. Require family enrollment in health insurance when spouses are both employed by the State of Iowa;
   3. Reduce or eliminate deferred compensation contribution for non-contract employees;
   4. Evaluate the cost benefit of going to a 10-hour, 4-day work week; and
   5. Pay employees on a semi-monthly basis rather than bi-weekly.
4. DAS and DOM shall issue to the Governor’s Office an Initial Report outlining specific plans for implementing this Order, which document shall include timelines for implementing, analyzing, or evaluating each of the above-described actions and whether the actions can be achieved in another manner.  Further, the Initial Report shall identify any additional measures, not otherwise identified in the Iowa Efficiency Review Report, that DAS and DOM believe can be initiated without need for statutory changes that, if implemented, will have the effect of improving state agency performance in the delivery of services and offering a plan for the implementation of said additional measures.
5. Thereafter, starting on June 1, 2010, and semi-annually thereafter, the Directors of DAS and DOM shall issue to the Governor’s Office a Semi-Annual Status Report, which document shall set forth additional pertinent and relevant information including, but not be limited to: the savings-to-date for each of the implemental actions as set forth in paragraph 2, above, and the anticipated future cost-savings for each action to occur in FY 2011 and beyond; and any analyses and evaluations for potential savings and revenue generation opportunities as set forth in paragraph 3, above.  Further, any Report shall identify any additional measures that Directors of DAS or DOM believe can be initiated that could have the effect of improving state agency performance in the delivery of services and offering a plan for initiating said measures.

All reports described herein shall be posted on the Governor’s Office’s website: www.governor.iowa.gov, and shall invite comments by state government employees and members of the general public.

IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have hereunto subscribed my name and caused the Great Seal of Iowa to be affixed.  Done at Des Moines this 16th day of December, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine.