Legislation that would reduce the number of state agencies reporting to Gov. Asa Hutchinson from 42 to 15 cleared the Arkansas Senate on Monday night.
With Sen. Gary Stubblefield, R-Branch, dissenting, the Senate voted 33-1 to approve House Bill 1763 by Rep. Andy Davis, R-Little Rock, sending it back to the House to consider a Senate-approved amendment.
Hutchinson's reorganization plan represents the most sweeping overhaul of state government since 1971 when Democratic Gov. Dale Bumpers led an initiative to meld 60 agencies into 13 departments under Act 38 of 1971.
The Republican governor has estimated that the reorganization effort could save about $15 million a year beginning in fiscal 2021, which starts July 1, 2020.
Sen. Bart Hester, R-Cave Springs, told senators that he hopes there will be "a lot more savings" than that under the reorganization.
The secretaries selected by Hutchison to serve as the heads of the 15 departments will be key in determining implementation of this overhaul of state government, he said. State employees aren't going to lose their jobs as a result of this reorganization, but positions that become vacant may not be filled to increase the efficiency of state government, he said.
[RELATED: Complete Democrat-Gazette coverage of the Arkansas Legislature]
The Senate Committee on State Agencies and Governmental Affairs advanced the bill a week ago to the full Senate, after adding an amendment. The amendment is a 14-page packet of changes that included fixing misspellings and altering how some rule-making entities are structured.
HB1763 would create 15 Cabinet-level departments headed by secretaries, starting in July.
It would establish the following Cabinet-level departments: agriculture; commerce; corrections; education; energy and environment; finance and administration; health; human services; inspector general; labor and licensing; military; parks, heritage and tourism; public safety; transformation and shared services; and veteran affairs.
The bill also would permit Hutchinson to appoint a 25-member transition team composed of state employees to implement the plan.
The Senate's amendment to the bill was proposed by Sen. Jimmy Hickey, R-Texarkana, and primarily focused on preserving three current rate- or rule-making bodies in their current form.
The amendment would pull the Public Service Commission out of the proposed Department of Energy and Environment to make it independent.
The amendment also would allow the banking, insurance and securities departments in the proposed Department of Commerce and the Plant Board in the proposed Department of Agriculture to maintain rule-making abilities and independence from their respective Cabinet secretaries.
The House must approve the amendment before sending the bill to Hutchinson for his signature.
A Section on 04/09/2019