Loss of funds spares some Iowa boards from elimination

DES MOINES — A panel tasked with reviewing Iowa’s boards and commissions has reversed its recommendations to eliminate some government boards after Iowans expressed concerns over losing federal funding and public services.

The Boards and Commissions Review Committee unanimously approved its recommendations during its final meeting Monday, proposing to eliminate or consolidate 111 of Iowa’s boards and commissions, leaving 145 in place.

The recommendations would need to be approved by the Republican-controlled Iowa Legislature in next year’s session and signed into law by GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds before they take effect. The committee was created as part of a massive state government reorganization law Reynolds signed this year, which also shrank the number of cabinet-level state agencies and eliminated dozens of unfilled state jobs.

What changed from initial recommendations?

According to a draft report, the final recommendations left intact some boards that previously were slated for elimination after speakers warned during a Sept. 6 public hearing that their loss would have jeopardized millions in federal funding, including the Commission on Volunteer Service and the Midwest Higher Education Compact.

The panel recommended, however, reducing the volunteer commission’s membership from 19 to the minimum number required by federal law.

Also, rather than being eliminated, the state’s Board of Athletic Training would be merged with the Board of Chiropractic, Board of Massage Therapy and Board of Physical and Occupational Therapy. Athletic trainers said during the public hearing that losing licensing for the profession would disincentivize qualified trainers from working in the state and allow unqualified people to work as athletic trainers.

Iowa’s Commission on Deaf Services, which deaf residents said during the hearing was vital to the deaf community, would be merged with a council that provides hearing aid support, rather than placed under the Human Rights Board.

"Based on feedback we heard from the deaf community, we concluded that this commission is really different from all the others, and it's about providing a fairly unique set of services to deaf Iowans that are required by the particular nature of their disability," said David Faith, a deputy attorney general and committee member.

A number of other population-specific boards — commissions on African Americans, Latinos, Asian and Pacific Islanders, Native Americans, people with disabilities and women — were recommended to be rolled into the Human Rights Board.

The board also reversed its recommendations to eliminate the Board of Nursing Home Administrators, the Youth Advisory Council and the Commission on Uniform State Laws, recommending they all continue as is.

The committee maintained its recommendation to eliminate dozens of other boards, including the Boiler and Pressure Vessel Board, Elevator Inspection Board, Board of Dietetics, Council on Homelessness and Board of Examination of Shorthand Reporters.

The duties of many boards recommended for elimination can be assumed by the state agency overseeing them, the report said, while others rarely meet or were created for a purpose that is no longer relevant.

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The committee will release its final report by Wednesday, said the committee’s chair, Department of Management Director Kraig Paulsen.

General recommendations

The committee also maintained its general recommendations, including creating an ongoing review process, eliminating the requirement that boards be gender balanced and paying members of certain boards a yearly stipend.

Under the proposal, state officials would review all boards and commissions on a four-year basis. The committee also recommended boards have an automatic sunset period of two to four years unless they are extended.

The panel proposed paying members of Iowa’s Board of Regents, Board of Education and Council on Health and Human Services $10,000 annually. Members of Iowa’s Transportation Commission, Telecommunications and Technology Commission and Racing and Gaming Commission currently are the only paid positions, and the members are paid $10,000 to $12,000 a year.

The draft report also recommends eliminating meeting frequency requirements and allowing boards more freedom to meet over video conferencing platforms like Zoom, a process the committee hopes will increase public participation.

Legislature will take up recommendations

Paulsen said during Monday’s meeting the committee used feedback from Iowans to revise its recommendations. He said the committee reached out to as many boards and commissions as possible, and received feedback from 85 percent of the state's boards.

The committee also heard from dozens of Iowans at the public hearing and received more than 1,000 comments to an email that was used for feedback, Paulsen said.

“I think the process we used worked well, and we began an important conversation in state government,” Paulsen said. “We searched and could not find a single other instance in our state’s history where there’s been a global conversation about boards and commissions.”

He also encouraged Iowans who still have concerns to reach out to lawmakers, who will decide on the recommendations during the 2024 legislative session starting in January.

Iowa Sen. Tony Bisignano, a Democrat from Des Moines, said during Monday’s meeting he hopes the final product does not diminish the ability of everyday Iowans to be part of their state government.

“We’re drilling down to, is it really important, is it not really important, do they meet enough, do they not meet enough,” he said. “The idea is, it’s bringing new faces, new voices, new people into Iowa’s operation, and that’s what I want to keep in mind.”