About Alabama — The Alabama Commission on Improving State Government

One of Gov. Robert Bentley’s first acts in January was to issue an executive order creating the Alabama Commission on Improving State Government. The state is facing the possibility of substantial budget cuts in the middle of its current fiscal year, plus even bigger reductions in the year to come. The purpose of the commission is to study and recommend ways for Alabama government to manage these cutbacks and become more efficient and effective.

There have been a number of such commissions in the past, and the two biggest criticisms of them are that they cost money at a time when we can’t afford it and we don’t need more studies on the shelf but rather action.

This commission is designed to minimize costs by taking advantage of available resources. Members will include business leaders as well as government officials, and all will serve without pay. Staff work will be done by state employees at no additional cost. Each state agency will analyze its programs to recommend restructuring and reductions. Prior commission reports from Alabama and elsewhere will be analyzed for recommendations that can reduce costs and improve services. The Legislature and the judicial system are doing their own independent reviews. The Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama (PARCA) and other research organizations will participate. There will be a website for the public to offer suggestions as well.

Everyone wants results but it would be foolish not to examine the options to make sure that recommendations actually will work as intended. For example, in a recent PARCA opinion survey, 68 percent of respondents approve of reorganizing state agencies and 55 percent approves of releasing nonviolent prisoners as ways to cut state costs. However, the governor and Legislature should have an analysis of the expected impact on expenditures, employment, service quality and public safety before approving specific measures in these and other areas.

A number of states have achieved big improvements in government from study commissions of this type. The work of The Commission for a New Georgia stands out, in part because of an implementation staff that turned recommendations into action. Alabama can profit greatly from studying the initiatives of our next-door neighbor and considering those that have the highest value for us.

EDITOR’S NOTE — Jim Williams is executive director for the nonprofit, nonpartisan Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama. Jim may be contacted at jwwillia@samford.edu.