Indiana has too many groups studying issues

FORT WAYNE -- A state panel that's spent the past year evaluating the state's hundreds of boards and commissions has come to a conclusion: Indiana has far too many such groups.\nThe boards and commissions subcommittee of the Indiana Government Efficiency Commission has decided that many of Indiana's boards and commissions need to be eliminated or consolidated, its chairman says.\nLarger, more complex panels, such as the Indiana Gaming Commission and the Bureau of Motor Vehicles Commission, will continue their work.\nBut the days could be numbered for others -- possibly the State Egg Board, the Maumee River Basin Commission or the Indiana Board of Interpreter Standards.\nThe initiative started during Gov. Mitch Daniels' campaign for governor, and he spoke about it again in his first State of the State Address, calling the state's many boards, commissions and advisory committees "weeds choking out growth and good government."\n"They devour time, money and energy far beyond any real contribution they make," he said.\nDaniels tried to get the General Assembly to give him the power to eliminate any unnecessary boards and commissions, but lawmakers balked at the vast executive control.\nIn response, Daniels created the Government Efficiency Commission last year, tasking its members with a tedious review of the various state panels.\nThe Efficiency Commission's subcommittee must give its recommendations to Daniels before Oct. 1. He will review the suggestions and submit a report to lawmakers by Nov. 1 recommending legislation to end or combine boards or commissions deemed unnecessary.\nTerry White, an Evansville attorney who chairs the boards and commissions subcommittee, said a mail survey revealed a total of about 300 boards and commissions -- many of them created when there was an unresolved conflict in the Legislature.\nHis subcommittee broke into smaller teams to look at boards and commissions in areas such as human services, education and natural resources.\nAll the various recommendations are not yet in, but White said his review of the boards and commissions related to professional licensing show that "a good chunk" is vulnerable. He expects it to be the same with the other teams.\n"We're leaving it up to each group to make the decisions. We are not going to try to editorialize or change their minds," he said.\nThe subcommittee received hundreds of pages of responses to the questionnaires, which sought information on membership, budgets, goals, accomplishments and oversight.\nThe Journal Gazette of Fort Wayne obtained the records after initially being refused by both the Government Efficiency Commission and the governor's office.\nThose records show that almost all the boards and commissions feel they are serving a highly specialized and necessary function, and that they were providing excellent or very good service.\nChris Johnston, of the Office of Management and Budget, noted that the state has at least four separate commissions set up to handle river basin issues on the Maumee, Kankakee, St. Joseph and Little Calumet rivers.\n"Yes, we need to address the geographic needs, but why not have one river basin commission with appropriate appointments?" Johnston asked.\nRod Renkenberger, executive director of the Maumee River Basin Commission, disagreed. He noted that each commission is funded differently. For instance, his group's state allocation -- $75,000 a year -- is used strictly to leverage federal money for buyouts and flood mitigation. All administrative costs are paid by the five counties that have members on the commission.\n"You don't have to look very far to see what the Maumee River Basin Commission has done. We kind of stand out. We're active," he said.