INDIANAPOLIS (March 31, 2006) ? State government made progress toward more efficiency in the second half of 2005, with projections of $100 million in cost savings for the period. That is according to the Indiana State Government Performance Report for July to December 2005 issued by Governor Mitch Daniels.

This is the second such report issued about state government performance. The first established performance standards for 30 state agencies; four more agencies are included in this report. Cost savings for the first six months of 2005 through one-time, annual savings and redirected funds were estimated at $155 million.

?To save more than a quarter of a billion tax dollars, it takes hundreds of reforms, large and small, and you have to look in every corner and watch every penny. The great work of our New Crew in making government more businesslike is a big reason we?re ahead of schedule in balancing the state budget and paying off its debts,? said Daniels.

For the second half of 2005, 73 percent of performance results fell into the yellow (needs improvement) or red (unsatisfactory performance) categories. That is an improvement over the first six months, when more than 85 percent of results were in the red or yellow areas. Five agencies, the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, Hoosier Lottery, Inspector General, Indiana National Guard, and PERF either scored consistently high on current performance measures or demonstrated strong improvement from the previous six-month report.

Among report highlights (complete list of highlights may be found on pages 8 and 9 of the report):

• The Department of Administration reduced the state?s fleet of vehicles. Of the 2,153 surplus vehicles identified, 1,909 have been disposed. In the first six months, 498 were sold.
• Savings continue throughout state government through contract renegotiations and service improvements. The Bureau of Motor Vehicles renegotiated contracts for drivers licenses and registrations and stickers and expects to achieve annual savings of $2.5 million. The Department of Correction negotiated a contract with LexisNexis for required legal services for inmates, saving an estimated $400,000.
• Inventory reduction at the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) resulted in savings of $2.5 million and streamlining mailroom operations will save another $25,000 annually.
• The DOC negotiated a new medical contract that will save more than $4.75 million in the first year, and more than $19 million over the life of the contract.
• The state is saving more than $500,000 annually by consolidating its advertising purchases.

Another section of the report outlines special initiatives undertaken by the governor in 2005. Those include:

• Mitch?s Kids, a statewide program to enroll more than 5,000 5- to 12-year-old at-risk youngsters in the Boys & Girls Clubs Power Hour program, an after-school program that helps kids develop good homework habits. (More than 1,400 children have enrolled since early January.)
• Help Thy Neighbor, which created a voluntary charitable trust to help low-income Hoosiers pay their heating bills. (Through March 31, more than $2 million in benefits had been distributed, resulting in over 11,000 Hoosier households statewide avoiding disconnection.)
• Rx for Indiana, a program to connect Hoosiers with free or low cost prescription drug assistance. (As of early March, more than 117,000 Hoosiers had received assistance through the program.)
• The initiative Buy Indiana ordered by the governor to spend more Hoosier tax dollars with Indiana companies. Before 2005, it was estimated that 62 percent or less of Hoosier dollars were spent with Hoosier companies. At the end of 2005, the state was purchasing 74 percent of its goods and services from Hoosier companies.
• Meth Free Indiana, a statewide initiative to eradicate meth use and production statewide. Indiana hosted the nation?s first Meth Summit in December, and the number of meth drug lab arrests dropped substantially during 2005.

Overall in state government, there are seven fewer agencies than at the beginning of 2005. During 2005, the number of state employees decreased by about 3,000, which resulted in payroll and overtime reductions of over $50 million annually.

The Public Access Counselor, Horse Racing Commission, Integrated Public Safety Commission and Coroners Training Board all established performance metrics in the second half of 2005. All remaining executive branch agencies will work with the Office of Management and Budget to create performance goals in 2006.

The report is posted online at www.in.gov/gov/performance/.

Audio from the news conference can be heard at: http://www.in.gov/gov/media/maa/033106.html