HOUSE BILL 538

50th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2011

INTRODUCED BY

Cathrynn N. Brown

AN ACT

RELATING TO GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE EVALUATIONS; REQUIRING A ONE-YEAR CUSTOMER SURVEY PILOT PROGRAM FOR THE MOTOR VEHICLE DIVISION OF THE TAXATION AND REVENUE DEPARTMENT, FOR THE NEW MEXICO LIVESTOCK BOARD AND FOR THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRIES DIVISION OF THE REGULATION AND LICENSING DEPARTMENT; PROVIDING FOR SURVEY RESULTS TO BE USED IN EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS; REQUIRING AN ASSESSMENT OF THE PILOT PROGRAM AND REPORTS TO POLICYMAKING BODIES, THE PERSONNEL BOARD AND THE LEGISLATURE.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

     SECTION 1. A new section of the Construction Industries Licensing Act is enacted to read:

     "[NEW MATERIAL] CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRIES DIVISION--CUSTOMER

SURVEYS--USE IN PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS.--

          A. The director shall establish a pilot program in

which a person doing business with the division's employees shall be offered an opportunity to participate in a survey of the person's experience with employees of the division with whom the person has most recently had contact.

          B. If the contact with an employee of the division is by telephone, at the end of the contact, the person's call

shall be routed, either automatically or by the employee, to a

programmed survey that the person may respond to orally or

digitally using the telephone. If the contact with an employee

of the division is in person, at the end of the contact, the person shall be offered an opportunity to fill out a paper survey or a digital survey.

          C. The survey shall contain questions or solicit

responses that the director deems appropriate to result in a

reasonable appraisal of the employee's performance, including

an evaluation of the response time to requests for inspections

or other services provided by division inspectors. In addition, the survey shall provide a means of identifying the employee whose contact with a person is being surveyed. The results of the survey shall be contained in an appropriate computer software program designed to record results by each employee. The survey shall not record the name of the person completing the survey, and each person's participation in the survey shall be anonymous. A survey shall be submitted in a manner that maintains the anonymity of the person.

          D. Other than employees of the division responsible

for collecting and processing the survey forms and results, the

computer software program information on division employees shall only be available to the commission and the director and to employee supervisors but only for those employees for whom a supervisor prepares or reviews a performance evaluation. In all other cases, the survey results, no matter where maintained, are confidential and not subject to the Inspection of Public Records Act.

          E. The pilot program shall be conducted for the

period from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2012. At the conclusion of this period, the director shall assess the program, determining whether it provided meaningful review of employees' performance in contacts with the public, whether employees were receptive to performance-improving recommendations, whether supervisors used the survey results in performance evaluations and whether employees who received poor survey results improved their performance or were reassigned to duties not involving contact with the public. Based on the assessment, the director shall make a recommendation about whether the pilot program should continue for an additional period of time, should be made permanent or should be canceled. The director shall report the results of the assessment and the recommendation to the commission, the personnel board and an appropriate interim committee of the legislature no later than September 1, 2013."

     SECTION 2. A new section of the Motor Vehicle Code is enacted to read:

     "[NEW MATERIAL] MOTOR VEHICLE DIVISION--CUSTOMER SURVEYS--USE IN PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS.--

          A. The secretary shall establish a pilot program in which all customers of the division shall be offered an opportunity to participate in a survey of the customers' experience with employee-representatives of the division with whom customers have most recently had contact.

          B. If the contact with an employee of the division is by telephone, at the end of the contact, the customer's call shall be routed, either automatically or by the employee, to a programmed survey that the customer may respond to orally or digitally using the telephone. If the contact with an employee of the division is in person, at the end of the contact the customer shall be offered an opportunity to fill out a paper survey or a digital survey.

          C. The survey shall contain questions or solicit responses that the secretary deems appropriate to result in a reasonable appraisal of the employee's performance. In addition, the survey shall provide a means of identifying the employee whose contact with a customer is being surveyed. The results of the survey shall be contained in an appropriate computer software program designed to record results by each employee. The survey shall not record the name of the customer completing the survey, and each customer's participation in the survey shall be anonymous. A survey shall be submitted in a manner that maintains the anonymity of the customer.

          D. Other than employees of the division responsible for collecting and processing the survey forms and results, the computer software program information on division employees shall only be available to the secretary and the director and to supervisors in the division but only for those employees for whom the supervisor prepares or reviews a performance evaluation. In all other cases, the survey results, no matter where maintained, are confidential and not subject to the Inspection of Public Records Act.

          E. The customer survey pilot program shall be conducted for the period January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2012. At the conclusion of this period, the secretary shall assess the program, determining whether it provided meaningful review of employees' performance in customer relations, whether employees were receptive to performance-improving recommendations, whether supervisors used the survey results in performance evaluations and whether employees who received poor survey results improved their performance or were reassigned to duties not involving customer relations. Based on the assessment, the secretary shall make a recommendation about whether the pilot program should continue for an additional period of time, should be made permanent or should be cancelled. The secretary shall report the results of the assessment and the recommendation to the personnel board and to an appropriate interim committee of the legislature no later than September 1, 2013."

     SECTION 3. A new section of The Livestock Code is enacted to read:

     "[NEW MATERIAL] NEW MEXICO LIVESTOCK BOARD--CUSTOMER SURVEYS--USE IN PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS.--

          A. The director shall establish a pilot program in which a person doing business with the board's employees shall be offered an opportunity to participate in a survey of the person's experience with employees of the board with whom the person has most recently had contact.

          B. If the contact with an employee of the board is by telephone, at the end of the contact, the person's call shall be routed, either automatically or by the employee, to a programmed survey that the person may respond to orally or digitally using the telephone. If the contact with an employee of the board is in-person, at the end of the contact the person shall be offered an opportunity to fill out a paper survey or a digital survey.

          C. The survey shall contain questions or solicit responses that the director deems appropriate to result in a reasonable appraisal of the employee's performance, including an evaluation of the response time to requests for inspections or other services provided by inspectors and board veterinarians. In addition, the survey shall provide a means of identifying the employee whose contact with a person is being surveyed. The results of the survey shall be contained in an appropriate computer software program designed to record results by each employee. The survey shall not record the name of the person completing the survey, and each person's participation in the survey shall be anonymous. A survey shall be submitted in a manner that maintains the anonymity of the person.

          D. Other than employees of the board responsible for collecting and processing the survey forms and results, the computer software program information on board employees shall only be available to the board and the director and to employee supervisors but only for those employees for whom a supervisor prepares or reviews a performance evaluation. In all other cases, the survey results, no matter where maintained, are confidential and not subject to the Inspection of Public Records Act.

          E. The pilot program shall be conducted for the period January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2012. At the conclusion of this period, the director shall assess the program, determining whether it provided meaningful review of employees' performance in contacts with the public, whether employees were receptive to performance-improving recommendations, whether supervisors used the survey results in performance evaluations and whether employees who received poor survey results improved their performance or were reassigned to duties not involving contact with the public. Based on the assessment, the director shall make a recommendation about whether the pilot program should continue for an additional period of time, should be made permanent or should be cancelled. The director shall report the results of the assessment and the recommendation to the board, the personnel board and an appropriate interim committee of the legislature no later than September 1, 2013."

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