A state panel is recommending only about a third of Iowa’s 256 boards and commissions continue without change — while scores of other panels be cut or consolidated — with the hopes of increasing efficiency and improving the functions of the remaining boards.
The recommendation was made Tuesday by the Boards and Commissions Review Committee, which has been tasked with reviewing Iowa’s boards and commissions and making recommendations for elimination and consolidation. It is an initial recommendation and would need to be approved by the Iowa Legislature and signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds before going into effect.
Iowa’s boards and commissions have wide-ranging responsibilities. Some have significant budgets and oversee large sectors of state government. Others govern professional licensing, while others set or recommend administrative rules.
Under the panel’s recommendations, 116 boards would be eliminated or folded into other boards, leaving the state with 140 boards and commissions. Many of those remaining boards would see a change in function and membership.
Iowa Department of Management Director Kraig Paulsen, the committee’s chair, said the group made recommendations based on which boards were effective and serving Iowans. The committee received written input from the boards when making its recommendations, Paulsen said.
“If it couldn’t get through those two gates, then it started to struggle,” he said. “Really, that's what it boiled down to: Is it making an impact for Iowans and is it doing what it's supposed to do?”
Paulsen said an overhaul of the state’s boards is long overdue. Each was made with a specific purpose, he said, but it often was made independently of the existing framework.
“Every now and then, you’ve got to look at the aggregate, and go, ‘OK, now what makes sense? What actually should this look like? What would we create if we had a blank slate?’” he asked.
The committee was created in a massive state government reorganization advocated by and signed into law by Reynolds during this year’s legislative session. The law also shrank the number of department-level agencies and eliminated hundreds of vacant state job positions.
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Sen. Janice Weiner, a Democrat from Iowa City and a non-voting member of the committee, said she is concerned about the way the committee has conducted its work.
To create the recommendations, the six-member board was broken up into subcommittees of two members, allowing the subcommittees to meet privately without violating Iowa’s open meetings law. The recommendations were not made public before Tuesday’s meeting, and Weiner said that made it difficult for those affected to know whether they should attend the meeting.
“There’s a line to be drawn between efficiency and not allowing sufficient input from the public and potentially consolidation of power,” Weiner said.
The recommendations laid out at Tuesday’s meeting are not final, and still a long way from taking effect.
The committee will hold a public hearing next week where members of the public can weigh in on the proposal. Then at the end of September, the panel will make its final recommendation to the Legislature.
The Republican-led Legislature will need to decide which recommendations to pass during next year’s session before Reynolds can sign them into law.
Rep. Jane Bloomingdale, R-Northwood, who is a non-voting member of the committee, said the process for implementing any of the final recommendations in state law will likely be similar to the government reorganization bill lawmakers passed this year.
Bloomingdale is the chair of the House State Government Committee and managed the government reorganization bill in the House.
“I’m looking forward to hearing from Iowans and digging into the details on these recommendations ahead of the 2024 legislative session,” Bloomingdale said in a statement.
The panel recommended the following changes to Iowa’s boards and commissions:
The panel also recommended eliminating the state law requiring boards be balanced between men and women to “allow the most qualified Iowans to serve on boards and commissions,” according to the report.
Republican lawmakers have tried, including this year, to remove the gender balance requirement from Iowa law. Two Iowa residents also filed a lawsuit in federal court last year seeking to eliminate the requirement.
Paulsen said the law was needed when it was passed in 1986, but he questioned whether it’s necessary. “Maybe it is still necessary and helpful in 2023, but why not have a conversation?” he asked.
Other recommendations include creating an ongoing process for reviewing boards and commissions and paying members of certain "critical" boards.
Members of the public will be able to comment during a public hearing on Sept. 6. Paulsen said the panel will allow for 50 speakers to weigh in on the recommendations. Iowans can email bcrccomments@iowa.gov to submit comments or ask to speak at the upcoming meeting.
“Iowans should submit their feedback on the committee’s preliminary recommendations, helping this committee put together a well-rounded final proposal,” Reynolds said in a statement. “Reviewing Iowa’s 256 Boards and Commissions is long overdue, and Iowans now have the chance to weigh in on how their taxpayer dollars should be used to support them.”
https://www.thegazette.com/state-go...olidate-half-of-iowas-boards-and-commissions/
The recommendation was made Tuesday by the Boards and Commissions Review Committee, which has been tasked with reviewing Iowa’s boards and commissions and making recommendations for elimination and consolidation. It is an initial recommendation and would need to be approved by the Iowa Legislature and signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds before going into effect.
Iowa’s boards and commissions have wide-ranging responsibilities. Some have significant budgets and oversee large sectors of state government. Others govern professional licensing, while others set or recommend administrative rules.
Under the panel’s recommendations, 116 boards would be eliminated or folded into other boards, leaving the state with 140 boards and commissions. Many of those remaining boards would see a change in function and membership.
Iowa Department of Management Director Kraig Paulsen, the committee’s chair, said the group made recommendations based on which boards were effective and serving Iowans. The committee received written input from the boards when making its recommendations, Paulsen said.
“If it couldn’t get through those two gates, then it started to struggle,” he said. “Really, that's what it boiled down to: Is it making an impact for Iowans and is it doing what it's supposed to do?”
Paulsen said an overhaul of the state’s boards is long overdue. Each was made with a specific purpose, he said, but it often was made independently of the existing framework.
“Every now and then, you’ve got to look at the aggregate, and go, ‘OK, now what makes sense? What actually should this look like? What would we create if we had a blank slate?’” he asked.
The committee was created in a massive state government reorganization advocated by and signed into law by Reynolds during this year’s legislative session. The law also shrank the number of department-level agencies and eliminated hundreds of vacant state job positions.
Transparency concerns
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Sen. Janice Weiner, a Democrat from Iowa City and a non-voting member of the committee, said she is concerned about the way the committee has conducted its work.
To create the recommendations, the six-member board was broken up into subcommittees of two members, allowing the subcommittees to meet privately without violating Iowa’s open meetings law. The recommendations were not made public before Tuesday’s meeting, and Weiner said that made it difficult for those affected to know whether they should attend the meeting.
“There’s a line to be drawn between efficiency and not allowing sufficient input from the public and potentially consolidation of power,” Weiner said.
When will the changes take effect?
The recommendations laid out at Tuesday’s meeting are not final, and still a long way from taking effect.
The committee will hold a public hearing next week where members of the public can weigh in on the proposal. Then at the end of September, the panel will make its final recommendation to the Legislature.
The Republican-led Legislature will need to decide which recommendations to pass during next year’s session before Reynolds can sign them into law.
Rep. Jane Bloomingdale, R-Northwood, who is a non-voting member of the committee, said the process for implementing any of the final recommendations in state law will likely be similar to the government reorganization bill lawmakers passed this year.
Bloomingdale is the chair of the House State Government Committee and managed the government reorganization bill in the House.
“I’m looking forward to hearing from Iowans and digging into the details on these recommendations ahead of the 2024 legislative session,” Bloomingdale said in a statement.
By the numbers
The panel recommended the following changes to Iowa’s boards and commissions:
- 88 boards and commissions would continue with no changes, including the Medical Cannabidiol Board, the Iowa Arts Council and the Board of Regents.
- 69 boards would be eliminated under the recommendations. Some of those boards were vacant or not meeting regularly, or were convened for a purpose that is no longer relevant, committee members said. One of the boards, the Health Facilities Council, in the last few years has granted plans that will make North Liberty the newest hub in the Corridor for medical care — agreeing to plans for the Steindler North Liberty Ambulatory Surgery Center and for a new University of Iowa hospital.
- Another 52 boards would be consolidated or merged into other boards. More than a dozen panels under the Department of Health and Human Services would be brought under the Council on Health and Human Services. Commissions dealing with Asian and Pacific Islanders, African Americans, Native Americans and women would be brought under the Human Rights Board.
- 47 boards and commissions would see reorganization or some other change. For many of those boards, the panel recommended changing the membership or removing rulemaking authority.
Other recommendations
The panel also recommended eliminating the state law requiring boards be balanced between men and women to “allow the most qualified Iowans to serve on boards and commissions,” according to the report.
Republican lawmakers have tried, including this year, to remove the gender balance requirement from Iowa law. Two Iowa residents also filed a lawsuit in federal court last year seeking to eliminate the requirement.
Paulsen said the law was needed when it was passed in 1986, but he questioned whether it’s necessary. “Maybe it is still necessary and helpful in 2023, but why not have a conversation?” he asked.
Other recommendations include creating an ongoing process for reviewing boards and commissions and paying members of certain "critical" boards.
Public hearing
Members of the public will be able to comment during a public hearing on Sept. 6. Paulsen said the panel will allow for 50 speakers to weigh in on the recommendations. Iowans can email bcrccomments@iowa.gov to submit comments or ask to speak at the upcoming meeting.
“Iowans should submit their feedback on the committee’s preliminary recommendations, helping this committee put together a well-rounded final proposal,” Reynolds said in a statement. “Reviewing Iowa’s 256 Boards and Commissions is long overdue, and Iowans now have the chance to weigh in on how their taxpayer dollars should be used to support them.”
https://www.thegazette.com/state-go...olidate-half-of-iowas-boards-and-commissions/
