| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to the State Employee Bonus Initiative; |
| 3 | creating the State Employee Bonus Initiative, an online |
| 4 | state employee suggestion program for reducing the cost of |
| 5 | state government; providing duties of the Legislative |
| 6 | Budget Commission relating to the program, including |
| 7 | creating and maintaining a program website; providing |
| 8 | program requirements; providing for a monetary award; |
| 9 | protecting employees from certain adverse and |
| 10 | discriminatory actions; prohibiting state agency heads and |
| 11 | elected and appointed officials from participating in the |
| 12 | program; requiring the commission to annually create and |
| 13 | make available to all state agencies a poster providing |
| 14 | certain information and meeting specified requirements; |
| 15 | providing an effective date. |
| 16 |
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| 17 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 18 |
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| 19 | Section 1. State Employee Bonus Initiative.- |
| 20 | (1) The Legislative Budget Commission shall establish the |
| 21 | State Employee Bonus Initiative, an online state employee |
| 22 | suggestion program through which state employees may submit |
| 23 | suggestions for cost reductions through increased efficiencies |
| 24 | or other economies or savings in the operations of the state. |
| 25 | The commission is responsible for the creation and maintenance |
| 26 | of the State Employee Bonus Initiative website at the Internet |
| 27 | address www.myfloridabonus.gov. |
| 28 | (2) Each employee making a suggestion for a cost reduction |
| 29 | under subsection (1) shall be paid a monetary award in the |
| 30 | amount specified in subsection (3) if: |
| 31 | (a) The suggestion is adopted, in whole or in part, by a |
| 32 | state agency; and |
| 33 | (b) The suggestion results in actual savings of at least |
| 34 | $50,000 to funds appropriated pursuant to the General |
| 35 | Appropriations Act. |
| 36 | (3) A monetary award under this section shall be in the |
| 37 | amount of 1.5 percent of the estimated budget reduction to the |
| 38 | General Appropriations Act resulting from the employee |
| 39 | suggestion under subsection (1), as certified by the Legislative |
| 40 | Budget Commission. |
| 41 | (4)(a) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (b): |
| 42 | 1. A monetary award for a suggestion that results in |
| 43 | savings of less than $1 million shall be awarded immediately |
| 44 | upon the certification by the Legislative Budget Commission |
| 45 | under subsection (3). |
| 46 | 2. A monetary award for a suggestion that results in |
| 47 | savings greater than $1 million, as certified by the Legislative |
| 48 | Budget Commission under subsection (3), requires approval by the |
| 49 | Legislature. |
| 50 | (b) The Legislative Budget Commission may refer any |
| 51 | suggestion or portion of a suggestion subject to an award to the |
| 52 | Legislature for approval. |
| 53 | (5) A monetary award under this section shall be based on |
| 54 | annualized savings even if only partial reductions were made |
| 55 | based on part of the budget year having elapsed. However, when a |
| 56 | budget reduction to the General Appropriations Act is only |
| 57 | partially implemented in the first fiscal year and additional |
| 58 | aspects of the suggestions need to be implemented in the |
| 59 | succeeding fiscal year, the employee who submitted the |
| 60 | suggestion shall receive award compensation over both years |
| 61 | which is proportioned and paid at the time of implementation for |
| 62 | each component of the suggestion that was implemented. |
| 63 | (6)(a) A suggestion shall be anonymous during the |
| 64 | evaluation process. Upon the submission of a suggestion through |
| 65 | the program's website, the employee shall be assigned an |
| 66 | anonymous employee suggestion program number. |
| 67 | (b) After certifying a budget reduction subject to an |
| 68 | award under subsection (3), the Legislative Budget Commission |
| 69 | shall post the employee's anonymous employee suggestion program |
| 70 | number on the program's website and shall provide the employee |
| 71 | with instructions on who to contact on behalf of the commission. |
| 72 | (c) Upon the adoption of a suggestion that results in a |
| 73 | monetary award, the employee shall be named and recognized on |
| 74 | the program's website. |
| 75 | (7) An employee may not be harassed, terminated from |
| 76 | employment, or subject to any other adverse or discriminatory |
| 77 | action for making a suggestion under this section. However, an |
| 78 | employee is not a victim of adverse employment action under this |
| 79 | subsection if the employee's suggestion includes and results in |
| 80 | the elimination of his or her position. |
| 81 | (8) State agency heads and elected and appointed officials |
| 82 | may not participate in the program. |
| 83 | (9) On or before December 31 of each year, the commission |
| 84 | shall create and make available to all state agencies a poster |
| 85 | in English and Spanish that explains the program and provides |
| 86 | the program's website address. The poster must be at least 8.5 |
| 87 | inches by 11 inches in size, be in a format easily seen by |
| 88 | employees, and have text of a conspicuous size. |
| 89 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2011. |