The committee shall: (1) Review referrals of potential program evaluation topics and select, by majority vote, agencies, programs, subprograms, or subject areas for program evaluation using the screening criteria prescribed in section 50-1207;
(2) Promote the efficient use of the unit staff and resources by limiting and defining the scope of proposed program evaluations and by adopting formal scope statements which shall be used to guide the unit in the conduct of program evaluations;
(3) Review, amend, if necessary, and approve or reject a formal program evaluation plan for each program evaluation to be developed by the unit director and staff;
(4) Respond to inquiries regarding the conduct of program evaluations;
(5) Inspect or approve the inspection of the premises, or any parts thereof, of any agency or any property owned, leased, or operated by an agency as frequently as is necessary in the opinion of the committee to carry out a program evaluation or preevaluation inquiry;
(6) Inspect and examine, or approve the inspection and examination of, the records and documents of any agency as a part of the conduct of a program evaluation or preevaluation inquiry;
(7) Administer oaths, issue subpoenas, compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of any papers, books, accounts, documents, and testimony, and cause the depositions of witnesses either residing within or without the state to be taken in the manner prescribed by law for taking depositions in civil actions in the district court;
(8) Review completed program evaluation reports prepared by the unit staff, together with comments from the evaluated agency and adopt, reject, or amend each report and incorporate the adopted and amended recommendations into a committee report;
(9) Release the committee report to the public and distribute it to
the Legislature with or without benefit of a public hearing;
(10) Hold a public hearing, at the committee's discretion, for the purpose of receiving testimony prior to issuance of the committee report;
(11) Establish a system to ascertain and monitor agency conformity to the recommendations contained in the committee report and compliance with any statutory changes resulting from the recommendations;
(12) Issue an annual report each September, to be prepared by the unit director and approved by the committee, summarizing recommendations made pursuant to reports of program evaluations during the previous fiscal year and the status of implementation of those recommendations;
(13) Serve as custodian of all records generated by the committee or the unit in the conduct of a program evaluation;
(14) Consult with the unit director regarding the staffing and budgetary needs of the unit and assist in presenting budget requests to the Appropriations Committee of the Legislature; and
(15) Approve or reject, within the budgetary limits of the unit, contracts to retain consultants to assist with program evaluations requiring specialized knowledge or expertise. Requests for consultant contracts shall be approved by the unit director and presented to the committee by the unit director. A majority vote of the committee shall be required to approve consultant contract requests.
