Bill would bring back state Productivity Board, employee suggestion program
The program that generated millions of dollars in taxpayer savings thanks to employees’ “Brainstorm” ideas may live again under a new bill that would re-establish the state Productivity Board.
The board was suspended in 2011 as a cost-saving measure brought on by The Great Recession.
Senate Bill 6332, sponsored by Sen. Phil Fortunato of the 31st Dist., would re-start the board by July 31 of this year.
The beauty of the old Productivity Board program was its objectivity. It gave state employees whose good ideas were ignored by their agencies an outlet through the board, which was part of the Office of Secretary of State.
And countless Federation members used that freedom to innovate and won the popular “Brainstorm Awards” for ideas they generated. They got to share in the savings: $10,000 or 10 percent, whichever was less. That savings sharing plan would also be restored in Fortunato’s bill.
