Taming Boards & Commissions

By Will | Tuesday, March 8th, 2011 | Catch-All, Columns, Policy

Monday’s Times-Dispatch story on the elimination of 11 Virginia State Government Boards and Commissions reminds us that reducing the size of government is not for the faint of heart.  Even this tiny, tentative step at reforming government is meeting some resistance. Other Boards and Commissions fear they might be next, so lobbying campaigns to “save” them are being hatched.

If Virginia is committed to reform–downsizing, right-sizing, whatever you want to call it–taming Boards and Commissions is a good place to start.  Here’s why:

• They are engines of government growth.  The agencies and appropriations that go with them easily lead board members into the “Stockholm Syndrome,” whereby they become virtual lobbyists for growing the activity they nominally oversee.
• Their implicit costs cut government efficiency.  Do not be fooled by a low “cost” number floated by defenders.  They seldom count the cost of valuable staff time planning meetings, communicating with Board members, and taking the copious notes needed for minutes.  The State government workforce is not bloated.  Every minute spent on the care and feeding of a Board or Commission is time away from a real job.
• Their output is highly overrated.  Few Boards and Commissions report recommendations that are read by anyone but themselves.  There is no check on their scope; many meeting agendas devolve into discussions of the pet projects or interests of the members, not the issues the Boards and Commissions should nominally be reviewing.
• They are seldom representative.  Some Board and Commissions members are appointed because they reside in a specific region or represent a certain industry.    Few accept the implied duty to seek out regional or industry input; they represent themselves and their affiliation.

In a more perfect world, only Boards and Commissions with statutory authority to do something concrete–approve a project, institute a  regulation, or adjudicate an administrative matter–should remain.

What of all the citizen input and expertise that are supposedly provided by Boards and Commissions?  With today’s technology, the beekeepers, the recyclers, the Natural Resources Foundationers, and all the rest should be able to comment directly to the agencies involved in their work.  The input would be more diverse and representative than what Boards and Commissions provide now.

Governor McDonnell should offer amendments to purge even more Boards and Commissions.  Reform has to involve tough love.

The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer and do not represent the opinions or positions of any governmental or private entity.  This column was written on the writer’s personal time, on his personal computer.  No localities were harmed in the creation of this post.

In 2006, after a series of unfortunate events, the writer promised “to blog no more forever.”  He is reneging on that vow because with all the Facebooking, Twittering, and YouTubing going on, blogging seems like such a quaint subversive vice.

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