State Senator Mike Kopp, R-S.Jeffco, had an ambitious idea that ran aground in the Senate State, Veterans, and Military Affairs Committee last week. The ambitious idea: to study state government and regulations for their efficiency, effectiveness, and cost.

SB10-164 presented as cure for sloppy government
SB10-164 was introduced with some fanfare earlier in the session as the Republican answer to the Democrat's cry that the party of NO offered NO solutions to the state's budget problems. Kopp's bill would create two task forces, one from the Legislative Audit Committee (LAC) to examine state government, and one from the Committee on Legal Services (COLS) to examine state regulations.

The LAC's job would identify essential state services and look for overlapping or duplicative services, fraud, and other inefficiencies. The COLS's job would examine state regulations for their relevance and cost to business.

Task force composition questioned
Business and academic leaders along with two state employees would form the committees. That was the first rub. Senator Betty Boyd, D-Lakewood, noted that no committee members were from education, health care, human services, and other non-business enterprises even though many state departments provide services in these areas.

No money to make money, said Bacon
State Senator Bob Bacon, D-Ft. Collins, questioned the committees' composition as well, noting the lack of committee representation from consumers of state services. 

Bacon also cited the roughly $750,000 price tag on the bill's fiscal note. "I know it takes money to make money, but we don't have money to take right now," said Bacon. Kopp said that he would get the money from the old standby, gifts, grants, and donations, but Bacon didn't buy it.

Non partisan committee necessary, said Kopp
Kopp argued that the legislature needed a BRAC type commission to help the state make itself more efficient. The feds used the BRAC as a nonpartisan tool to identify military bases to close. Bacon and Boyd, noting the distinctly "business" orientation of Kopp's task forces, smelled a skunk, and voted that way.

Partisan gamesmanship on both sides kills bill
So a potentially good idea hit the ever-present partisan barrier, with Kopp seeming to load up the task forces with business allies, and no amendments to the bill to correct the suspected bias. The result: the reputed party of NO can say "YES we tried," and the Dems can retort, "But they didN'T really mean it." The bill was postponed indefinitely on a 3-2 party line vote. PEN, CCW

This post was published on February 20, 2010. Permalink »