Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a bill into law Friday that eliminates or changes more than 80 state boards and commissions as part of her effort to reorganize state government.
“Government should be consistently reviewing and improving our systems and the quality of services we provide, just like any business does for their customers,” she said in a news release.
Reynolds proposed cutting more than 100 of the state’s 256 boards and commissions after she worked last year to reduce the number of state agencies from 37 to 16. Republican lawmakers slightly scaled back her proposal this year.
“Iowa’s boards and commissions have never been comprehensively reviewed and adjusted for effectiveness and have grown exponentially in size and scope over decades,” Reynolds said. “Today, we reverse that trend, reducing 83 boards and commissions, fixing identified inefficiencies, and unlocking the full potential of last year’s legislation to more effectively deliver services to Iowans.”
Democrats and some Republicans voted against the bill, with many saying they were concerned about changes to the Iowa Civil Rights Commission.
The law removes the commission’s authority to approve administrative rules, to make recommendations to the legislature, and to decide which complaints about discrimination in employment and housing to investigate. The agency’s director would make those decisions instead.
Democrats also opposed the elimination of commissions that represent Latinos, women, people with disabilities, Native Americans, the Asian and Pacific Islander community, and African Americans.
Speaking on IPR’s River to River this week, Iowa-Nebraska NAACP President Betty Andrews criticized the new law.
“It sends a sad, unwelcoming message to communities of color, to people with disabilities, and women that civil rights and their interests are not a priority at the highest level of state government,” she said. “And instead of listening to their constituents, many of our elected officials preferred to silence minority voices and neuter the Iowa Civil Rights Act of 1965.”
IPR asked Reynolds to respond to Andrews’ concerns about the Iowa Civil Rights Commission.
“This will make it easier to be more coordinated,” Reynolds said. “And really, again, we had a part-time board that was really managing things, and it’s just too hard to do that. You need somebody that’s there full time.”
Reynolds’ bill also faced opposition from many professional groups that did not want their occupational licensing boards merged with others, and some of those provisions did not make it into the final bill.
The bill includes a requirement for a committee to review a quarter of the boards and commissions each year moving forward to see if more need to be eliminated or changed. It also requires the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing to review all licensure renewal cycles and fees for professional and occupational licenses and report back to the legislature by Sept. 30.
According to the Legislative Services Agency, the law eliminates one paid position that would save the state up to $112,000. Other than that, the LSA estimated the law will “have a minimal decrease in expenses to the state.”
Click here to view a list of all the boards and commissions that are being eliminated.
