Merit Institute Merit

The Georgia Government Transparency & Performance Act (GA-GT&P)

Georgia state companion to GT&P. Extends State Personnel Board rules (O.C.G.A. Title 45 Ch. 20), Open Records Act (O.C.G.A. Sec. 50-18-70 et seq.), and the Georgia Taxpayer Protection False Claims Act (O.C.G.A. Sec. 23-3-120 et seq.).

THE GEORGIA GOVERNMENT TRANSPARENCY & PERFORMANCE ACT (GA-GT&P)

Vehicle: State passage. Georgia General Assembly, regular session. Primary referral to House Governmental Affairs / Appropriations and Senate Government Oversight / Appropriations.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE

This Act may be cited as the “Georgia Government Transparency & Performance Act (GA-GT&P).”

SECTION 2. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT

The General Assembly finds that Georgia’s State Personnel Board operates under O.C.G.A. Title 45 Ch. 20; that the Georgia Open Records Act operates under O.C.G.A. Sec. 50-18-70 et seq.; that the Office of Planning and Budget administers the state budget under O.C.G.A. Title 45 Ch. 12; that the Georgia Taxpayer Protection False Claims Act operates under O.C.G.A. Sec. 23-3-120 et seq., with qui tam and treble-damages provisions; and that the State Medicaid False Claims Act operates under O.C.G.A. Sec. 49-4-168 et seq. This Act extends these frameworks.

TITLE I — DEFINITIONS & COORDINATION WITH GEORGIA LAW

Sec. 101. Definitions

  1. (a) “GA-OPB” means the Office of Planning and Budget.
  2. (b) “Publicly visible outcome” means a metric published under Sec. 201.
  3. (c) “GA-TPFCA” means the Georgia Taxpayer Protection False Claims Act, O.C.G.A. Sec. 23-3-120 et seq.

Sec. 102. Coordination with Existing Georgia Law

  1. (a) Consistent with:
  • O.C.G.A. Title 45 Ch. 20 (State Personnel Board).
  • O.C.G.A. Sec. 50-18-70 et seq. (Open Records).
  • O.C.G.A. Title 45 Ch. 12 (OPB).
  • O.C.G.A. Sec. 23-3-120 et seq. (GA-TPFCA).
  • O.C.G.A. Sec. 49-4-168 et seq. (Medicaid FCA).

TITLE II — OUTCOME-BASED BUDGETING

Sec. 201. Outcome Metrics for Covered Programs

  1. (a) Each covered program in the Executive Budget shall publish at least three outcome metrics.
  2. (b) OPB shall publish the Georgia Outcome Dashboard in machine-readable form.

Sec. 202. Fiscal-Note Outcome Integration

  1. (a) Legislative fiscal notes issued by the State Auditor under O.C.G.A. Sec. 28-5-42 shall identify outcome metrics from Sec. 201.

TITLE III — CIVIL-SERVICE MERIT PROTECTIONS

Sec. 301. Codification of Performance-Standards Protections

  1. (a) O.C.G.A. Title 45 Ch. 20 is amended so that nothing precludes policy-influencing-position classifications with publicly posted performance standards.
  2. (b) Classifications consistent with O.C.G.A. Sec. 45-20-2 (unclassified service) following the 1996 merit-system reform.

TITLE IV — GA-TPFCA QUI TAM AMENDMENT

Sec. 401. Credentialing and Outcome-Data Fraud

  1. (a) O.C.G.A. Sec. 23-3-122 is amended so that a person presenting a materially false or fraudulent claim involving GARMC, Federal FRAC, or GA-OBSA outcome data is liable to the State under the GA-TPFCA.

Sec. 402. Whistleblower Award

  1. (a) O.C.G.A. Sec. 23-3-122 rewards are extended to GARMC/FRAC/OBSA claims: 15-25% of State recovery when the State intervenes; 25-30% otherwise.

TITLE V — IMPLEMENTATION & GENERAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 501. Severability

If any provision is held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect the remainder.

Sec. 502. Effective Date

This Act shall take effect July 1 of the year following enactment.

Canonical federal version: GT&P. Other Georgia bills: GA-ACSA, GA-MEWRA, GA-AI-Workforce.