A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT creating the JOINT legislative study Commission on implementation of the beacon hr/payroll system and appropriating funds for that purpose.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.(a)  There is created the Joint Legislative Study Commission on BEACON HR/Payroll System Implementation (Commission). The Commission shall consist of 16 voting members appointed as follows:
(1)	Eight members appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to include:
a.	Four members of the House of Representatives.
b.	One person in the field of information technology.
c.	One person who is a State agency human resources professional.
d.	One person with expertise in payroll systems.
e.	One member of the general public.
(2)	Eight members appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, to include:
a.	Four members of the Senate.
b.	One person in the field of information technology.
c.	One person who is a State agency human resources professional.
d.	One person with expertise in payroll systems.
e.	One member of the general public.
The State Chief Information Officer, or that officer's designee, shall serve as an ex officio nonvoting member of the Commission.
SECTION 1.(b)  The Commission shall:
(1)	Examine implementation of the BEACON HR/Payroll system.
(2)	Review the costs associated with the BEACON HR/Payroll project, including an analysis of the initial cost estimate, projected final cost of full implementation, and the ongoing cost of the system's operation within State agencies. 
(3)	Review the impact of BEACON HR/Payroll implementation on State agencies and employees.
(4)	Study any other matter related to the BEACON HR/Payroll system that the Commission deems relevant.
(5)	Make an interim report to the 2010 Regular Session of the 2009 General Assembly upon its convening.
(6)	Make a final report to the 2011 General Assembly that includes findings, recommendations, and legislative proposals relating to the BEACON HR/Payroll project.
SECTION 1.(c)  The Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate shall each appoint a cochair for the Commission. The Commission may contract for consultant services as provided by G.S. 120‑32.02. Upon approval of the Legislative Services Commission, the Legislative Services Officer shall assign professional and clerical staff to assist in the work of the Commission. Clerical staff shall be furnished to the Commission through the offices of the House of Representatives' and the Senate's Directors of Legislative Assistants. The Commission may meet in the Legislative Building or the Legislative Office Building upon the approval of the Legislative Services Commission. The appointing authority shall fill vacancies. The Commission, while in the discharge of its official duties, may exercise all the powers provided under the provisions of G.S. 120‑19 through G.S. 120‑19.4, including the power to request all officers, agents, agencies, and departments of the State to provide any information, data, or documents within their possession, ascertainable from their records, or otherwise available to them and the power to subpoena witnesses.  Members of the Commission shall receive per diem, subsistence, and travel allowances as follows:
(1)	Commission members who are members of the General Assembly, at the rate established in G.S. 120‑3.1.
(2)	Commission members who are officials or employees of the State or of local government agencies, at the rate established in G.S. 138‑6.
(3)	All other Commission members, at the rate established in G.S. 138‑5.
SECTION 1.(d)  The Commission shall terminate upon filing its final report.
SECTION 2.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the General Assembly the sum of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) for the 2009‑2010 fiscal year and the sum of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) for the 2010‑2011 fiscal year to fund the work of the Commission.
SECTION 3.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2009.