MEMORANDUM

At its April 8 meeting, the Commission asked the Steering Committee to develop a proposed workplan for the Commission’s consideration on May 13. In the attached table the Steering Committee has listed the different tasks the Commission has shown an interest in addressing or that it has been asked by the Legislature or the Governor to consider. The table also shows the tasks that have been completed.

The Steering Committee has concluded that there are a number of important issues that deserve attention and that it will be impossible for the Commission to address all of these in time to make recommendations for the 1998 Legislative session. Therefore, the Steering Committee recommends that some of the topics be considered as issues that will be completed towards the end of the Commission’s life, in June 1998.

There are two basic questions facing the Commission in developing the workplan. First, what topics should be taken up in the remaining 14 months the Commission has to complete its work? Second, should the Commission include in its workplan issues that it will not complete until June 1998 and that could not be considered until the 1999 Legislature?

The Steering Committee believes that the issue papers prepared as part of last year’s process were very important elements in the development of the Commission’s recommendations. The Steering Committee recommends that issue papers again be prepared to assist the Commission in understanding the topics under consideration and developing alternatives for its consideration.