Overhaul of Iowa boards, commissions advances

DES MOINES — Iowa lawmakers advanced two different proposals to reorganize Iowa’s boards and commission on Wednesday after Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds proposed a dramatic overhaul to the structure of the boards.

Reynolds’ proposal, Senate Study Bill 3172, would cut or consolidate 111 of Iowa’s administrative boards and commissions, leaving 145 in place after the reorganization.

The bill advanced out of the Senate State Government Committee on by a party-line vote, with Republicans in favor.

In the House, a much smaller proposal — to eliminate 49 of the state’s boards and commissions — passed nearly unanimously out of the State Government Committee.

Iowa’s boards and commissions have a wide array of responsibilities. Some have significant budgets and oversee large sectors of state government. Others govern professional licensing. Others set or recommend administrative rules for state programs and laws.

The bill also would change how boards operate. It would require all boards and commissions to be reviewed every four years. Creating a new board would require a three-fifths vote of the Legislature, and a new board would automatically dissolve after four years unless it is renewed.

It would establish $10,000 salaries for members of the boards of Education, Health and Human Services and Board of Regents.

‘More efficient’

Reynolds proposed the bill after a committee last year reviewed the state’s boards and commissions, a directive included in Reynolds’ sprawling government reorganization bill signed into law last year.

Reynolds and her office have said the bill is necessary to improve the efficiency of Iowa’s government, remove unnecessary and outdated boards and make sure they are properly meeting the needs in the state.

"As the legislative process continues, so will conversations," Reynolds said in a statement provided by a spokesperson. "We all understand that some of Iowa’s 256 boards and commissions have become duplicative and obsolete. Our goal is to make government more efficient and effective — that’s something we all agree on.”

Open to changes

While the proposals differ widely between the two chambers, the floor managers of each bill said they were open to changes to their bills as they move through the lawmaking process.

“I think we’re going to start with the governor’s bill and potentially with this amendment dial back, based on some of the feedback that we’ve gotten from the public,” said Sen. Chris Cournoyer, R-Le Claire, who led the subcommittee. “So, hopefully, we’ll work with the House to meet in the middle somewhere and make sure we’re addressing the needs.”

Rep. Jane Bloomingdale, R-Northwood, who proposed the House bill, said it focuses on areas of broad consensus. She said House lawmakers were open to looking at Reynolds’ other recommendations as the bill moves through the lawmaking process.

Reynolds’ bill was introduced Monday, and Bloomingdale said her committee did not have time to review all of the governor’s proposed changes.

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“I didn’t think it was fair to my committee to ask them to vote on something they didn’t have time to look at,” she said. “So I thought, let’s take the more obvious, easy … And this was the list we came up with, and said, let’s start here.”

Some of the commissions the House bill would remove no longer meet regularly or they serve a function that is no longer necessary, lawmakers said.

All but two House Democrats voted with Republicans to move the bill out of committee Wednesday.

“It is necessary to look back over the 150 years of our state’s history and make sure we don’t have unneeded commissions,” said Rep. Adam Zabner, D-Iowa City. “I think this doesn’t have all the challenges of the Senate bill, so I hope the Senate looks over here and looks at this bill and realizes it’s much better.”

Sen. Janice Weiner, a Democrat from Iowa City, did not vote to advance Reynolds’ bill out of the Senate subcommittee. She said she’d prefer the Senate take up the House bill that sparked far fewer concerns from stakeholders.

“I’m really convinced that the House will move forward with that bill, and I think we’d be well advised to consider it, and consider it down the line as a strike after,” she said. “And as a starting point. We can always do more next year.”

One of the changes in Reynolds’ bill, removing the requirement that boards and commissions have an equal number of men and women, has passed out of House and Senate committees as a stand-alone bill.

Dietitians object

Lobbyists and professionals representing several industries spoke during the Senate subcommittee meeting Wednesday with concerns about the bill removing or merging their boards with other industries.

A group of dietitians opposed removing the state Board of Dietetics and the removal of licensure requirements for dietitians. They said the lack of licensure would drive dietitians out of the state and hurt the state’s economy.

Agency rules

Another bill proposed by Reynolds, Senate Study Bill 3119, calling for periodic reviews of the rules state agencies write to implement laws, also advanced.

Last year, Reynolds directed each state agency to review its administrative rules and repeal any rules that were unnecessary or overly restrictive.

The first year led to a 40 percent reduction in the page count of the reviewed rules, Reynolds’ legislative liaison, Molly Severn, told lawmakers Wednesday.

The bill would require that the existing process for reviewing administrative rules every five years include a cost-benefit analysis of rules and a consideration of whether there are less restrictive ways to accomplish the rules.

The bill passed out of the Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday with no discussion. Sen. Mike Bousselot, R-Ankeny, said earlier at a subcommittee hearing that he had some questions about the bill but supported the removal of red tape.

“That’s tedious work, but it’s important work, because it has led to, frankly, a lot of rules going away that weren’t being used,” Bousselot said. “And that’s clutter that can confuse Iowans.”

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