The Little Hoover Commission during a meeting on Tuesday approved a recommendation to the state legislature for approval of Gov. Jerry Brown’s Reorganization Plan and will offer a final report addressing specific concerns with the plan in a few days, Commission Executive Director Stuart Drown said today.
The Commission, an independent oversight agency, voted unanimously to recommend the plan to the legislature. Brown’s Reorganization Plan, in hopes of making government more efficient, will reduce the number of state agencies from the current 12 to 10. Five existing state agencies will be replaced by new agencies, including the Government Operations Agency, the Business and Consumer Services Agency, and the Transportation Agency.
"The Little Hoover Commission’s unanimous endorsement of this plan moves us one step closer to a more streamlined state government," the governor said in a statement.
Tuesday’s vote came after several meetings and a public hearing during which the Commission heard from critics and supporters. The state technology community attended a meeting April 24 to voice opinions on a proposal within the plan that will move the California Technology Agency under the Government Operations Agency and eliminate the current state Chief Information Officer’s cabinet-level status.
While the Reorganization Plan was recommended to the legislature, Drown said a full report will address specific concerns raised by Commission members. The report is expected as early as Friday and will address the issue of the proposal to change the CIO’s status, he said.
"We make a specific recommendation on the CIO," he said.
John Thomas Flynn, former CIO for the Technology Agency, spoke before the Commission in April and vehemently opposed the change of status for the CIO position. Today, he said he remains hopeful that the Commission will still encourage change within the Plan’s language.
“The LHC is not in the business of opposing reorganization plans submitted by the Governor,” Flynn said in an email. “I hold out some hope that in their final report the Commission will recommend that the head of the new Department of Technology, Carlos Ramos, should report to the Governor.”
The Senate and Assembly will consider Brown’s budget proposals today and tomorrow, respectively, according to Drown, who will testify for both. He expects to return once the Commission releases the full report. The legislature has until July 3 to reject the proposal or let the plan go into effect, according to the governor’s office.
