Labor Group Criticizes Gov's Streamline Plans

By Peter Smith and Bill McMorris, Virginia Statehouse News Monday, December 05, 2011

ALEXANDRIA - Gov. Bob McDonnell's proposal to cut or merge several minor departments and boards has drawn criticism from a major labor group for its small scope and cautious optimism from the governor’s conservative base.

“There is not a lot of dollar savings. Most of these reforms are just moving boxes from one office to another,” said Ron Jordan, executive director of the Virginia Governmental Employees Association, which represents 20,000 state workers.

On Tuesday, McDonnell announced plans involving more than 50 minor state agencies and boards. The reforms followed some of the recommendations put forth by the Government Reform and Restructuring Commission, a board of McDonnell appointees hand-picked to "streamline" government.

The governor's office said the move will save $2 million, though officials who spoke to Virginia Statehouse News could not point to how they arrived at those estimates. The savings are scant when compared with the potential $1.5 billion budget gap the state faces entering 2012.

“A number of people have encouraged the governor to think big, and he's missed the mark by a long shot,” Jordan said.

Republicans, who campaigned on a platform of reducing government in the past three election cycles, excused the governor for keeping a narrow focus.

Fluvanna County Supervisor Shaun Kenney, who also serves on the governor’s Task Force for Local Government Mandate Review — another commission tasked with reforming state policies that increase local spending — defended McDonnell’s plan as a stepping stone for larger reforms.

“The governor on a number of fronts is going after the low-hanging fruit, and he's doing that as a good way to gain momentum,” Kenney said. “Once you get the momentum, you can take a bite out of the apple."

McDonnell learned a harsh lesson in the 2011 session with, at the recommendation of his Reform Commission, his move to privatize state liquor stores. The move stalled in the General Assembly. Despite extensive lobbying and a heavy majority in the House of Delegates, McDonnell could not get the votes to bring the bill out of committee. Liquor stores remain under state control.

The losing battle dealt a blow to his political capital, and Kenney said a repeat could prove catastrophic.

"If you try to go in one shot, you could end up arresting any reform,” he said, pointing to big-ticket issues that may be taken up in session, including pension and Medicaid reform.

Charles Smith, executive director of the Virginia American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which represents several thousand state workers, said the slower approach McDonnell has endorsed for the 2012 session is preferable to the major reform efforts the governor proposed in 2011, he said in reference to the liquor privatization.

“Virginia has short legislative sessions. Sweeping reforms should be done in a very careful manner,” he said.

A part-time General Assembly, he said, does not afford the opportunity to turn back the clock if new laws carry unintended consequences, which hurt the state. While some states function with year-round lawmakers, Virginia typically operates with a Legislature that may only work through June in regular and extended-veto session.

The General Assembly will take up the reform proposals when it reconvenes Jan. 11.