A gubernatorial commission this week recommended comprehensive changes in state government that would improve services to consumers and increase accountability by greater executive control. With a projected annual cost savings of about $300 million, the Legislature can't afford to ignore its findings.
The Commission on Management, Accountability and Performance delivered an exhaustive review of state agencies, and completed a 200-page report that should serve as a blueprint for legislative change next session.
Although a partial reorganization of state government was completed in 1993, there remain dozens of agencies under the independent authority of appointed boards and commissions, instead of the governor's control. The commission found many state agencies that "operate as a collection of independent fiefdoms, and not as a cohesive whole."
"The lack of a unified system that guides each agency's management ... contributes to fragmentation and costly duplication," the panel concluded. Its recommendations for consolidation of agencies under the governor's Cabinet would provide for economies and accountability.
Those include making the superintendent of education and the adjutant general appointed positions. The Legislature should proceed with a referendum to alter their constitutional status and place them in the governor's Cabinet.
The Legislature also should allow voters to decide on the elimination of the secretary of state's office. The commission recommended having the Department of Revenue assume the duties of that superfluous office, at a savings of some $250,000 a year.
Some large-scale changes can be accomplished on the Legislature's own authority, such as the merger of health and human services agencies into a single Cabinet agency under the governor's control. Similarly, the commission recommends the Legislature transfer agencies dealing with insurance, retirement, procurement and administrative services to the governor's office, under a single Cabinet position.
One of its most controversial proposals will certainly be its plan to repeal the popular Teacher and Employee Retention Incentive, but the commission makes a persuasive case. The program was enacted primarily as a way to retain experienced teachers in the classroom, as well as other valuable state employees. Legally, however, it had to be made available to all retirees served by the state system, including municipal and county employees. It now "has evolved to an employee benefit program" expected to cost the state retirement system $650 million, the commission said.
The commission, incidentally, recommended that the state look at restoring the 30-year retirement requirement, recognizing the expense of the legislatively shortened requirement of 28 years' service.
Among its most comprehensive recommendations is a consolidation of information technology services. Providing uniformity in computer systems will save millions in procurement dollars and enable state agencies to share information. It will cut paperwork expenses and allow state residents to electronically access information. It could, for example, enable them easily to obtain applications for state employment.
The MAP Commission offers broad suggestions for cutting expenses and improving services through consolidation that will eliminate duplication and cut administrative overhead. Its recommendations touch virtually every state agency, including some of the most financially strapped, such as the state Department of Corrections and the state Department of Transportation.
The state's continuing fiscal problems demand a thorough and open consideration of the commission's report by the Legislature. Meanwhile, the governor should begin looking at what he can accomplish by executive order.
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