The Orange County Register, Calif. --Aug. 4--SACRAMENTO, Calif.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday formally unveiled his plan to "blow up the boxes" of state government, a 2,500-page report that seeks to save $32 billion by streamlining bureaucratic agencies, eliminating more than 100 boards and commissions and overhauling state business practices.
Recalling Hiram Johnson, the Progressive-era governor who gave California the
ballot initiative process, Schwarzenegger said he will ignore the
"squawking" of opponents and instead work all-out "to create an
efficient, responsive and responsible government, a 21st-century government for
the future of California."
The proposal, spelled out in two phone-book sized volumes, actually reverses
many reforms backed by Johnson, who sought to disperse state power from elected
officials and vest it with appointed boards of experts who were considered less
susceptible to political corruption.
Schwarzenegger's plan concentrates power in the governor's office, merging 11
agencies and 79 departments into 11 departments directly under Schwarzenegger's
control.
Programs currently overseeing themselves -- ranging from community colleges,
to local water-quality boards, to the board that licenses barbers -- would be
folded into a massive bureaucracy helmed by Schwarzenegger and a team of
department secretaries.
Other agencies, such as the Public Utilities Commission, would remain, but
would see many of their most important duties transferred to the executive
branch.
To justify these changes, the report offers a harsh critique of California
government, calling it "antiquated and ineffective ... bureaucracy at its
worst -- costly, inefficient and in many cases unaccountable."
Other recommendations:
--Allow motorists to renew drivers licenses online.
--Print all government documents in plain English.
--Create a new Public Health Department.
--Have school districts sign performance-based funding contracts with the
state.
--Make university students do public service.
--Reduce oversight of HMOs.
Schwarzenegger will begin implementing the plan, dubbed the California
Performance Review, early next year, after an appointed commission takes public
comment in a series of hearings around the state in coming weeks.
He will face stiff opposition. Senate Leader John Burton, D-San Francisco
said on Monday the plan is too large to be presented wholesale to the
Legislature, and instead needs to be broken up and considered piece by piece
over many years.
On Tuesday, groups ranging from health-care advocates to public engineers
began cranking out detailed critiques, casting doubt on projected savings and
worrying that a proposed overhaul of health agencies would undermine care for
the uninsured and knock the needy out of government assistance programs.
"Alarm bells are going off," said Sierra Club State Director Bill
Allayaud of the proposed elimination of most environmental oversight boards.
"We think (such boards are) a part of our democracy and what people want,
for the environment in particular."
Schwarzenegger brushed off claims that the proposals, which were intensely
lobbied by many of the state's largest corporations, are an intrusion of
business interests into government or a power-grab by the governor.
"First of all, I think you have to get rid of the word 'power,'"
Schwarzenegger said at Tuesday's unveiling. "The people want to be served
by government. They want to be served in the most efficient way. ... I have no
interest in gaining more power."
Schwarzenegger then likened himself to the CEO of a large corporation such as
IBM or General Electric who evaluates his company "from the top to the
bottom, makes ... recommendations, and then you see immediately, in a year or
two, you see the changes, the positive changes, how this company is going to big
profits and how they turn around the mess they were in."
Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona, who advised the Performance Review on
public safety reforms and sits on the commission that will take public comment,
said the recommendations give a badly needed dose of centralization and
coordination to the state's sprawling law enforcement system.
Carona said anti-terrorism planning, emergency services and the California
Highway Patrol all have overlapping duties but are governed by different parts
of state bureacracy. Consolidating them in one department will save money and
"stop duplication of effort," he said.
Other proposed changes were less welcomed. Parents said a proposal to reduce
kindergarten enrollment by excluding children who turn 5 after Sept. 1 would rob
kids of an important early start.
"I'd rather start kids when they are 4 so they can start learning,"
said Anaheim parent Elizabeth Luangpraseuth, who had to place her two daughters
on waiting lists for preschool because they were too young for kindergarten.
The 275 state workers who took a five-month leave of absence from their jobs
to conduct the Performance Review were jubilant at Tuesday's unveiling, cheering
lustily for Schwarzenegger, snapping each others' pictures and making
arrangements for reunion gatherings at local bars.
Some have stayed on with the Performance Review, which Executive Director
Billy Hamilton said could become a permanent government entity performing
regular evaluations of state departments and goading bureaucrats into accepting
reform.
"Otherwise government gets slack and lazy," Hamilton said.
One glitch marred the unveiling. Performance Review commissioners, including
Sheriff Carona, were supposed to get Fed-Exed copies of the efficiency
recommendations Tuesday. But a staffer took them to the wrong mailing location
Monday night.
The reports, said commission chairman William Hauck, will arrive a day late.
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