The Little Hoover Commission will meet Friday to discuss potential recommendations on Gov. Jerry Brown’s Reorganization Plan, which will reduce the number of state agencies and move the California Technology Agency under a new Government Operations Commission, Little Hoover Commission officials confirmed today.
The meeting, scheduled to take place Friday at 10 a.m. in the Legislative Counsel Conference Room in the lower level of 925 L Street in Sacramento, commission Deputy Executive Director Carole D’Elia said today. The commission will decide what recommendations on the Reorg Plan should be made to the legislature, with recent meetings suggesting that the commission will likely present concerns members have if the reorganization plan moves forward, she said.
The Little Hoover Commission, an independent oversight agency, heard comments on the reorganization plan’s section that will move the Technology Agency under the new Government Operations Agency and change the Agency Secretary’s position as state CIO to a non-cabinet-level position during a meeting April 24.
While current CIO and Agency Secretary Carlos Ramos spoke in favor of the change, industry organization TechAmerica and former state CIO John Thomas Flynn vehemently opposed the change, raising concerns over the change in the CIO’s cabinet-level position.
Erika Li, Senior Policy and Fiscal Analyst for the Legislative Analysts Office, said the office has not yet been asked to offer a formal opinion on the Reorganization Plan. However, Li said she has concerns similar to those raised at the hearing. While the plan states that the CIO position will maintain its current power and authority, Li said that may not be the case.
"It’s just another step, or two or three, that the current Secretary doesn’t have to go through," Li said. "He sits at the table with the governor, he has the ear of the governor, priorities get heard directly from him to the governor, and that is likely not going to happen under the new organization."
The Little Hoover Commission staff has consulted with the LAO on the Reorganization Plan but not asked LAO representatives to testify before the commission and typically does not on reorganization matters, according to D’Elia.
Based on Friday’s LHC meeting, commission staff will likely draft a document for adoption at a meeting on May 22 and send recommendations to the legislature within a few days, D’Elia said.
