Lawmakers Vow New Effort to Measure Budget Results | Jackson Free Press | Jackson, MS

Lawmakers Vow New Effort to Measure Budget Results

House Speaker Philip Gunn of Clinton and Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves said Thursday that a new approach will identify agency programs and try to determine whether the money spent on them produces results.

House Speaker Philip Gunn of Clinton and Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves said Thursday that a new approach will identify agency programs and try to determine whether the money spent on them produces results. Photo by Trip Burns.

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Top legislative Republicans are promising that Mississippi will get performance-based budgeting right this time.

In 1994, the Legislature passed a plan requiring agencies to collect data measuring their performance under five-year strategic plan. But that data, though listed in budget documents, has been little used in making decisions.

House Speaker Philip Gunn of Clinton and Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves said Thursday that a new approach will identify agency programs and try to determine whether the money spent on them produces results. The idea is to stop spending on programs that don't produce measurable results—and, in some cases, spend more on programs that do produce results.

The program could reinforce legislative control over agencies. Gunn says that's proper because lawmakers decide how money gets spent.

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