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Governor's review is a 'power grab'

by jody freeman

The plan to reorganize state government, submitted to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in July, contains some good ideas. But buried in the 2,500-page report is a troubling hidden agenda to tighten the governor’s grip on power.

As written, the plan would eliminate or convert more than 100 of our independent boards and commissions into executive branch departments that report to the governor. Traditionally, independent agencies are insulated from direct political influence. Unlike members of the Cabinet or heads of executive departments, they do not serve at the governor’s pleasure. This means they cannot be fired until their terms expire. And some of them are appointed by the Legislature, which also balances the governor’s power. Members are free to make policy decisions based on facts and experience, regardless of political fallout. Because many boards must hold public hearings, they are often more accessible to the public than executive agencies. And their independence gives them credibility.

If the recommendations made in the California Performance Review (CPR) are adopted, we can expect to see changes to, for example, the boards responsible for unemployment insurance and workers’ compensation benefit appeals. Those functions would shift to a new Department of Labor and Development headed by a secretary answering to the governor. Instead of neutral experts adjudicating benefit awards, the final decisions would be made by a political appointee.

The plan would also eliminate the state Water Quality Control Board and nine regional water boards. A new Department of Environmental Protection, under the governor’s control, would be responsible for their functions. The Air Resources Board, long a respected and cutting-edge voice in air pollution policy, would also be folded into the new department as a “division.”

In general, the CPR reduces opportunities for public input and strengthens top-down control. There is nothing wrong, in theory, with a strong unitary executive branch. But our governor already exercises more power over lawmaking than does the U.S. president. Add that power to the enhanced power our governor seeks over law implementation and you have executive dominance.

The governor appears to pursue more power at every opportunity. He recently proposed, for instance, that the Legislature revert to part-time status. A part-time legislature would leave even less time for sound analysis of public policy while weakening one of the chief rivals to gubernatorial power.

Certainly, the CPR contains many good ideas. Yes, we should eliminate agencies like the Integrated Waste Management Board, which gives cushy patronage appointments for part-time work. And yes, it’s smart to consolidate agencies that duplicate each other’s functions, and to make available more online services, such as driver’s license renewals. But reform should not come at the price of concentrating gubernatorial power. Don’t let the innocuous name fool you: This “performance review” is, at least in part, a power grab.

Freeman is a law professor at UCLA who has written extensively about government agency structure and environmental regulation and policy.