Does Iowa have too many boards and commissions? New panel tasked with finding out

DES MOINES — A new state committee will review Iowa’s more than 250 boards and commissions with the goal of whittling down their number and improving efficiencies.

The committee was created in a massive government reorganization bill Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law earlier this year, which also shrunk the number of cabinet-level state agencies from 37 to 16.

Iowa Department of Management Director Kraig Paulsen, the committee’s chair, said the number of boards in Iowa has grown over time, and has become difficult to handle.

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“They are sprawling with overlapping jurisdiction, occasionally even working in contrary purposes,” he said. “And this is a way to build a more coherent creation of administrative policies for Iowans.”

The committee had its first meeting Monday, setting its structure and timeline. By Sept. 30, the committee will make recommendations to the governor and the Iowa Legislature on whether each board should be kept, modified, combined with another or eliminated.

Iowa has 256 boards and commissions, Paulsen said. Some, like the Board of Regents — which governs Iowa’s three public universities — oversee massive budgets and large swaths of state government. Others govern licensing of various professions, while others set or recommend administrative rules for different industries and policy areas.

Paulsen said all the boards are on the table as the committee sorts through its work. He did not name any boards that are likely candidates for elimination, but he acknowledged the major boards and commissions are likely to stay.

“I don’t see a scenario where the Board of Regents is going to go away,” he said.

A challenge will be making sure the services and responsibilities of each of Iowa’s boards and commissions is maintained while eliminating some boards and consolidating their duties with others.

“There’s a reason the board exists and was created,” he said. “And so it kind of comes down to — can we still address that issue, maybe in a different board or different way?”

Other members of the committee include Jacob Nicholson, chief operating officer for Reynolds; Nate Ristow, administrative rules coordinator; Larry Johnson, director of the Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing; David Faith, deputy attorney general; and Barbara Sloniker, the board’s public member and executive director of the Siouxland Chamber of Commerce.

The committee's non-voting members are Republican Sen. Jason Schultz of Schleswig and Rep. Jane Bloomingdale of Northwood, and Democratic Sen. Janice Weiner and Rep. Adam Zabner, both of Iowa City.