Early in this General Assembly, a local lawmaker introduced four bills which aim to reduce a corner of state government.
State Sen. Jeanie Riddle, R-Mokane, introduced the bills to begin chipping away at the number of boards and commissions within the state.
With more than 200 boards and commissions in Missouri, Gov. Eric Greitens created through an executive order last April a task force to examine their purpose, effectiveness and necessity.
The governor's office estimated more than three-quarters had members serving on expired terms. Many of the board and commissions had vacancies. Some had too few members to create a quorum. Others hadn't met for more than five years.
Riddle served on the Boards and Commissions Task Force, which released its findings in October. She said the bills she introduced begin to chip away at the bureaucracy of thousands of people serving on boards and commissions. These first four bills would likely eliminate more than 100 gubernatorial appointments.
"We've been breaking it up in bills and trying to manage it piece by piece," Riddle said. "And it is definitely a work in progress."
Senate Bill 843 would remove the State Unemployment Council and require the state auditor to study the state unemployment system every five years.
A quick look at the board shows it has four vacant slots and seven members whose terms have expired. Some expired up to seven years ago. Among other boards, it would modify composition of the Missouri Women's Council and allow members to be reappointed. The bill would eliminate the Interior Design Council and give its tasks to the Division of Profession Registration. It would reduce the Children's Trust Fund Board from 21 to 17 members (eight of whom would be governor-appointed rather than 12). It would transfer responsibility for appointing some members of the Missouri Commission on Autism and Spectrum Disorders from the governor to the director of the state Department of Mental Health.
"Right now, we have so many (boards and commissions) that have either not enough people to have a quorum or have people whose term has expired," Riddle said. "Boards and commissions are still meeting, and they're still on expired terms."
Riddle spent much of the first month of the legislative session interviewing people interested in filling board and commission seats.
"I would love to be doing some other things as well," she said. "But that's a priority right now because we have to get these appointments made."
Senate Bill 844 would transfer responsibility for appointing members of the Advisory Commission for Clinical Perfusionists, Missouri Acupuncturist Advisory Committee, Advisory Commission for Dental Hygienists and other health care advisory committees from the governor to the director of the division of professional registration. (Perfusionists are health care professionals who operate cardiopulmonary bypass machines during heart surgery.)
Senate Bill 845 would modify the Task Force on the Prevention of Sexual Abuse of Children, including removal of members of the General Assembly. It would add directors of the Department of Social Services, Children's Division within the Department of Social Services and others to the task force.
Senate Bill 848 would remove two board members from the Board for Certification of Interpreters. It would require that one member be deaf, another be a certified interpreter and the third be either.
That last bill illustrates why proposals about changes to that board are definitely not written in stone, Riddle said.
After she created the first draft of the bill, she said, members of the Board for Certification of Interpreters reached out to her with suggestions to improve it.
"We thought we had it right in one direction," Riddle explained. "And after talking with individuals involved, we altered it because it did not serve the needs that they originally put it out to be."
People will have opportunities to weigh in on the bills as they pass through committees within the General Assembly and if and when they reach chamber floors, Riddle said.
When the task force formed, it was hoped that it would save taxpayers money. Many of the boards and commissions have funds monitored by State Treasurer Eric Schmitt's office, which maintains lists of audits and monthly reconciliation memos for each fund the state maintains. There are hundreds of the funds.
For example, the Hearing Instrument Specialist Fund accounts for fees collected for the examination and licensing of any person who practices fitting and the sale of hearing aids. Money in the fund is to be available to the Advisory Council for Hearing Aid Dealers and Fitters to pay its expenses. Through December, the fund contained $325,664. The fund transferred out an average of about $5,950 per month for expenses.
The Missouri Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Board of Certification of Interpreters Fund, made up of fees collected by the Board for Certification of Interpreters for applications or administration of evaluations and other practices, maintained a balance of approximately $13,500 at the end of December.
Many factors go into whether a fund has reserves, including whether the board or commission is mandated by state or federal government and what that mandate requires, Riddle said.
Some fees, when they reach a certain plateau, have reserves swept into the state's General Fund.
Part of the task force's push was to instruct boards and commissions so they can take a look at the fees they charge. Many have reduced fees rather than create large reserves, she said.
"It's so they can maintain a level of funding for whatever purpose they have," Riddle said, "and not go overboard."
One recommendation of the task force was to mandate an automatic fee reduction if funds reached three times the yearly/biannual budget of a particular board or commission. The reductions would be limited to once every five years.
It recommended immediate elimination of about 20 boards that no longer meet. Rather than having numerous agricultural boards, the task force recommended a new Missouri Agricultural Board contain 12 members from different agricultural backgrounds. The new board could create subcommittees to deal with topics such as cotton, wine and grape, dairy, livestock and other needs.
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