SENATE BILL REPORT
SB 5401
As Reported By Senate Committee On:
State & Local Government, February 8, 2001
Ways & Means, March 8, 2001
Title: An act relating to the elimination of boards and commissions.
Brief Description: Eliminating boards and commissions.
Sponsors: Senators Patterson and Finkbeiner; by request of Governor Locke.
Brief History:
Committee Activity: State & Local Government: 2/8/01 [DPS].
Ways & Means: 3/6/01, 3/8/01 [DPS (SLG)].
SENATE COMMITTEE ON STATE & LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Majority Report: That Substitute Senate Bill No. 5401 be substituted therefor, and the substitute bill do pass.
Signed by Senators Patterson, Chair; Fairley, Vice Chair; Gardner, Hale, Haugen, Horn, Kline, McCaslin, Roach and T. Sheldon.
Staff: Aaron Jennings (786‑7445)
SENATE COMMITTEE ON WAYS & MEANS
Majority Report: That Substitute Senate Bill No. 5401 as recommended by Committee on State & Local Government be substituted therefor, and the substitute bill do pass.
Signed by Senators Brown, Chair; Constantine, Vice Chair; Fairley, Vice Chair; Fraser, Hewitt, Honeyford, Kline, Kohl‑Welles, Long, Parlette, Rasmussen, Regala, Rossi, Sheahan, B. Sheldon, Snyder, Spanel, Thibaudeau, Winsley and Zarelli.
Staff: Steve Jones (786-7440)
Background: The Governor and the Office of Financial Management (OFM) are required to review state boards and commissions, and in every odd-numbered year submit to the Legislature a recommended list of boards and commissions to be terminated or consolidated. During the 1997-1999 biennium, Washington had 335 boards and commissions, down from a high of 569 during the 1991-1993 biennium. Each board or commission operates in conjunction with and reports to a particular state agency or to the Governor's office.
Summary of Substitute Bill: Eighteen boards, commissions, and committees are either repealed or abolished. These boards, commissions, and committees are the Department of Social and Health Services Regional Advisory Committees, the Department of Social and Health Services State Advisory Committee, the Washington State Job Training Coordinating Council, the Ecology Regional Citizen=s Advisory=s Committees - Model Toxic Control Act, Sea Urchin and Sea Cucumber Advisory Review Board, Coastal Crab Advisory Review Board, Ocean Pink Shrimp Advisory Review Board, Shorelines Guidelines Commission, Wetlands Mitigation Banking Advisory Team, and the Legislative Building and Preservation Commission.
Substitute Bill Compared to Original Bill: The original bill abolished or repealed the Adult Family Advisory Committee, the Productivity Board, and the Solid Waste Advisory Committee. The substitute bill no longer contains those three committees or boards.
Appropriation: None.
Fiscal Note: Not requested.
Effective Date: The bill takes effect on July 1, 2001.
Testimony For: State agencies are relying more on temporary task forces to obtain information from the public. There is a move away from permanent committees and boards. The state agencies should be allowed to have more flexibility and be better able to focus temporary task forces.
Testimony Against: The Productivity Board is a very successful and popular program. Board programs have saved the state over $43 million. Suggestions that are often killed by the state agency are then reviewed by the Productivity Board and are often found to actually be effective and are implemented. The Adult Family Home Advisory Committee was just started two years ago so there has not been enough time to judge the effectiveness of the committee. The committee is self‑funded. The Solid Waste Advisory Committee is the only opportunity for all the parties involved in solid waste disposal to meet and discuss issues concerning the solid waste industry.
Testified: Lawrence Jacobson, Brainstorm Productivity Board participant (con); Michelle Tsalaky, WA Refuse & Recycling Assn. (con); Jeff Kelley‑Clarke, State Solid Waste Adv. Comm. (con); Sam Reed, Secretary of State (con); Brian Sonntag, State Auditor (con); Michelle Wilson, EIRB (con); Jamila Thomas‑Roberts, WA Fed. of State Employees (concerns); Fred Hellberg, Governor's Office (pro); Glen Hudson, Assn. of WA Business (pro, except remove the productivity board from the bill); Bill Day, Adult Family Home Assn. (concerns); Lynn McKinnon, WPEA (concerns); Daryll James Arenson, Dept. of Corrections (con); Jeff Larsen, WA State Residential Care Council (con).