PROGRAM AUTHORIZATION REVIEWS

Laws 1993, Chapter 252 established the Program Authorization Review (PAR) process. The legislation outlines the following procedures for the PAR process:

• The budget unit responsible for the relevant PAR program shall submit a self-assessment of the program to the Directors of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee (JLBC) and Office of Strategic Planning and Budgeting (OSPB). For FY 1997 through FY 1998, the self-assessments are due by April 1 of the prior year.
• The Directors of the JLBC and OSPB shall jointly evaluate the agency self-assessment and jointly produce a report of their findings. This report is due by October 1 of each succeeding year.
• As part of their ensuing respective budget recommendations, JLBC and OSPB may independently recommend to retain, eliminate or modify funding and related statutory references for the PAR programs.

Chapter 339 amended Laws 1995, Chapter 283's listing of the 75 programs undergoing the PAR process over a 4-year period from FY 1996 through FY 1999. Chapter 339 specified 36 programs and subprograms in 18 agencies to undergo review in 1998. (See below.) Following the 1998 chart is a listing of the outcomes of the 1997 reviews.

Laws 1997, Chapter 210 further modified the PAR process as described in the previous section. Laws 1995, Chapter 283 had originally envisioned 20 PARs being conducted in 1999. Under Laws 1997, Chapter 210 those PARs have been eliminated and are replaced by a-yet-to-be-determined number of PARs in 2000 and every succeeding even-numbered year.

Return to JLBC Home Page