Article by Erik Smith. Published on Tuesday, December 14, 2010 EST.
Lawmakers Got Preview Last Week
Gov. Christine Gregoire.
By Erik Smith
Staff writer/ Washington State Wire
OLYMPIA, Dec. 14.–Looks like another merger of Washington state’s natural resource agencies is back on the table. Gov. Christine Gregoire is expected to announce today a plan to merge the state’s 13 natural resource agencies into three or four super-agencies.
Lawmakers got a preview of the plan last Friday in the House Ecology and Parks Committee – sort of a 10,000-foot look at the idea. But one thing seems clear. Longtime Olympia-watchers remember the enormous conflict that took place in the ’90s when the Department of Fish and Wildlife was created by bashing together agencies that dealt with hunting and fishing interests. This one promises to create just as much tension.
Under the plan, the Department of Fish and Wildlife will be scrunched together with agencies that oversee parks and recreation, and conservation and recreation. From there the details remain uncertain until the governor unveils the proposal at a news conference this morning.
The idea has been kicked around Olympia for years, and there was some talk about it last year when Gov. Christine Gregoire was pushing “government reform.” But mostly what happened last year is that a couple of growth management hearings boards were eliminated and some agency back-office functions were combined. Now the cause has been picked up by a citizen group appointed by the governor to recommend changes in government structure, and staffers for the governor’s office told the committee they will make a formal proposal to the Legislature for the coming legislative session.
Money Not the Biggest Issue
How come? It’s not going to save an enormous amount money – everyone seems to acknowledge that. Much of the funding for the state’s natural resource agencies comes from sources other than the state budget, like user fees. But lawmakers and the governor’s office say they’re concerned about agencies with overlapping functions and bureaucracies that seem to step on each others’ toes.
“We’re looking at it from the perspective of what’s the right thing to do, with less regard to the funding,” said Julie Murray of the Office of Financial Management.
And government efficiency certainly is a popular slogan these days, as the state grapples with its $5.7 billion shortfall.
Past Experience Makes Process Seem Daunting
Lawmakers gulp a little when they remember what happened the last time they bashed agencies together. The fisheries-wildlife merger years ago brought a storm of protest from hunters and fishers alike. Their fees paid for the agencies, they said – create a big bureaucracy and you have to wonder how much attention they’ll get, and whose interests will get the upper hand.
“Some people say that the merger still is not complete,” said Dave Upthegrove, chairman of the Ecology and Parks Committee.
It’s a tough job, Murray admitted, because there are so many affected constituent groups, and it likely will take at least two years to put it all together. “This will be a process, and you have to start somewhere,” she said.Your support matters.
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