Republican House leaders don't want to scare anyone with the new committee they formed recently, which they say will improve efficiency of state government.

The new committee, the Government Performance and Improvement Committee, will be one of five subcommittees of the House Appropriations Committee.

It's the first new subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee established since 1985.

House Majority Leader Rick Berg of Fargo said it will have three objectives: streamline the appropriations process, address performance and accountability of state agencies and hear some of the normal agency bills.

"The purpose is to help make North Dakota a model of efficient government," Berg said.

The committee will be made up of Reps. Al Carlson, R-Fargo, Dave Monson, R-Osnabrock, Bob Skarphol, R-Tioga, and Elliot Glassheim, D-Grand Forks.

Some lawmakers are concerned that the committee was set up to slash budgets and criticize agencies for not being more efficient.

House Republican leaders enlisted the help of Glassheim, the only Democrat on the committee, to announce the committee to the media.

Glassheim said he initially feared the committee would be out to cut funds from budget.

"My fears were that this was going to be a gotcha committee, that it would be punitive or legislative micromanagement," he said.

Rep. Ken Svedjan, R-Grand Forks, said the committee will focus on special initiatives, including recommendations from the Performance and Accountability Interim Committee on ways to improve government efficiency.

Svedjan also said the new committee will not step on the toes of other committees that discuss policy issues.

"We can lessen the concerns that existed in the past and avoid stepping on toes," Svedjan said.

Appropriations committees are sometimes criticized for making policy decisions instead of focusing on decisions that involve the expenditure of money.

The new committee will not have the last word on what recommendation bills receive before the full House votes on them.

Once the subcommittees of the appropriations committees make a recommendation on a bill, the full committee also makes a recommendation. The House Appropriations Committee has 23 members.

House Minority Leader Merle Boucher, of Rolette, said he won't make a final judgment on the committee just yet, but he is skeptical.

"I have personal fears that it could turn into an investigative committee and that it could get out of hand," Boucher said.

The committee will meet in the Brynhild Haugland room, but the schedule has not yet been set.

Some of the bills that the committee will hear include the budget for the Office of Management and Budget, which is normally one of the last bills approved by the Legislature, Water Commission and Division of Emergency Management budgets.

(Reach reporter Tom Rafferty at 223-8482 or tom.rafferty@bismarktribune.com.)