The last structural budget reform proposal from the Senate proposed supplemental is to create a commission focused on the restructure of state government.  ESSB 6345 would establish the Agency Reallocation and Realignment of Washington (ARROW) commission.

ARROW’s duties would be to

• Review budget, revenue, and caseload forecasts and estimates;
• Examine current subsidies and tax breaks for effectiveness and fulfillment of original intent (including evaluating whether or not current subsidies, tax breaks, and economic policies create economic development and employment opportunities, achieve the state’s goals, and whether there is a less costly way to achieve the same, or better, outcome);
• Examine current operations and organization of state government assuming no expansion of current funding sources;
• Evaluate operational and organizational restructuring possibilities to find cost savings and efficiencies in order to maintain or enhance governmental functions with fewer resources;
• Submit an initial report to the legislature that includes recommendations for alignment of revenue and expenditures over the next six-year period.

ARROW would be able to recommend that any of the following be done:

• Adopt methods and procedures for reducing expenditures to the lowest amount consistent with the efficient performance of essential services, activities, and functions;
• Eliminate duplication and overlapping of services, activities, and functions, and time-consuming or wasteful practices;
• Consolidate services, activities, and functions of a similar nature;
• Abolish services, activities, and functions not necessary to the efficient operation of government;
• Eliminate unnecessary state departments and agencies, create necessary new state departments and agencies, reorganize existing state departments and agencies, and transfer functions and responsibilities among state departments and agencies;
• Define or redefine the duties and responsibilities of state officers;
• Revise present provisions for continuing or permanent appropriations of state funds of whatever kind for whatever purpose, eliminate any such existing provisions, and adopt new provisions.

ARROW would be required to report annually to the legislature from 2013 to 2016 (and after that, by the first year of each biennium).  In the reports, ARROW would include recommendations and proposed legislation.  The legislative proposals would be introduced in the legislature; after being heard in committee, the bill as introduced would be moved to the floor for a vote.  Any amendments to the bill would have to be approved by two-thirds of each house.

Lastly, documents, materials, and information showing opinions of members of ARROW would be exempt from disclosure under the public records act (unless publicly cited) and ARROW may go into executive session in order to consider its recommendations.

In the Thrive Washington series, we made recommendations related to restructuring the executive branch and streamlining regulations.