By: Price	H.R. No. 3646

	R E S O L U T I O N
	WHEREAS, The staff of the Sunset Advisory Commission provided
	vital assistance to the 84th Texas Legislature during the 2014-2015
	Sunset review cycle; and
	WHEREAS, Between September 2013 and January 2015, the Sunset
	Advisory Commission worked to develop recommendations regarding
	the 20 agencies under Sunset review, including the Administrative
	Hearings Tax Division, the State Office of Administrative Hearings,
	the Department of Aging and Disability Services, the Department of
	Assistive and Rehabilitative Services, the Interagency Task Force
	for Children with Special Needs, the Texas Council for
	Developmental Disabilities, the Texas Education Agency, the Texas
	Facilities Commission, the Department of Family and Protective
	Services, the Health and Human Services Commission, the Texas
	Health Care Information Council, the Texas Health Services
	Authority, the Department of State Health Services, the Governor's
	Committee on People with Disabilities, the Texas Council on
	Purchasing from People with Disabilities, Entry Criteria for
	Self-
	Directed Semi-Independent Agencies, the State Soil and Water
	Conservation Board, the University Interscholastic League, the
	Texas Workforce Commission, and the Texas Workforce Investment
	Council; and
	WHEREAS, the Sunset Advisory Commission's recommendations to
	the 84th Legislature are intended to streamline government and best
	meet the needs of Texans; they include abolishing 13 agencies and
	related boards, commissions, and councils, eliminating 45
	statutory advisory committees, and discontinuing nine regulatory
	programs and four other programs, producing an estimated positive
	fiscal impact to the state of $66.5 million over the upcoming
	2016-2017 biennium; and
	WHEREAS, To develop the recommendations, the Sunset Advisory
	Commission, with the professional assistance of the Sunset staff
	held numerous hearings, including two days of hearings that lasted
	over 27 hours from June 24 to June 25, 2014; commission members
	heard from Sunset staff, agency officials, and more than 240
	individuals who offered valuable public testimony; commission
	members also had the opportunity to ask many salient questions
	during the hearings; and
	WHEREAS, Since the inception of the Sunset Advisory
	Commission in 1977, the process has significantly streamlined and
	improved state government; among the 79 agencies that have been
	eliminated, 37 were completely abolished and 42 were abolished with
	certain functions transferred to existing or newly created
	agencies; in addition, the legislature has enacted a large majority
	of the Sunset Commission's recommendations; for example, of the
	agencies reviewed by Sunset for the 83rd Legislature in 2013, the
	legislature adopted 75 percent of the commission's
	recommendations; and
	WHEREAS, The fiscal impact of Sunset recommendations over
	time has been estimated through fiscal notes that accompany Sunset
	legislation; estimates from reviews conducted between 1982 and 2013
	indicate a 31-year positive fiscal impact of approximately $945.6
	million, compared with expenditures of $37.2 million for the Sunset
	Commission; based on these figures, every dollar spent on the
	Sunset process has earned the state approximately $25 in return;
	and
	WHEREAS, The Sunset staff was named the 2012 winner of the
	National Conference of State Legislatures Excellence in Evaluation
	Award, and NCSL cited the commission's quality analytical methods
	and superior written and verbal communication as reasons for its
	selection; and
	WHEREAS, Under the leadership of the Sunset Advisory
	Commission agency director Ken Levine, the staff team members for
	the 2014-2015 review cycle include: Jennifer Jones, Ginny McKay,
	Joe Walraven, Steven Ogle, Karen Latta, Karl Spock, Amy Trost, Faye
	Rencher, Katharine Teleki, Sarah Kirkle, Anne Allensworth, Eric
	Beverly, Erick Fajardo, Kay Hricik, Emily Johnson, Carissa Nash,
	Danielle Nasr, Sean Shurtleff, Amy Tripp, Skylar Wilk, Cee Hartley,
	Cindy Womack, Dawn Roberson, Janet Wood, and Brittany Calame; and
	WHEREAS, These noteworthy public servants have demonstrated
	extraordinary dedication and the utmost professionalism in
	furthering the vital mission of the Sunset Advisory Commission, and
	their endeavors have contributed immeasurably to the efficiency and
	accountability of state government; now, therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 84th Texas
	Legislature hereby commend the members of the 2014-2015 Sunset
	Advisory Commission review cycle team for their outstanding work
	and extend to them sincere best wishes for the future; and, be it
	further
	RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
	prepared for the commission as an expression of high regard by the
	Texas House of Representatives.