"State Panel Plan Assailed: Unions and lawyers for injured workers say a proposal to merge three boards is a power grab that would endanger their independence." That is the headline to a January 7, 2005 story in the LA Times.
Why another Arnold story? Because of the similarities between two new state administrations - California and Indiana - that have vowed to change the ways their states are doing business. Some quotes from today's story:
SACRAMENTO — Labor unions and attorneys for injured workers are slamming Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposal to fold into one agency three state boards that decide workplace issues.More from the story:The plan is part a sweeping government reorganization that the governor proposed in his State of the State speech Wednesday, a plan that would eliminate more than 100 government boards and commissions.
Schwarzenegger wants to combine the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board, the Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board and the Occupational Safety and Health Appeals Board into one, nine-member commission. All of the members of what one administration lobbyist dubbed "the übercommission" would be appointed by the governor and could be dismissed at any time.
The proposal, which could go into effect in 90 days if not rejected by the Legislature, is being touted by Schwarzenegger as a reform measure that would end the long-standing practice by outgoing governors of packing little-known state panels with their political cronies.Posted by Marcia Oddi at January 9, 2005 12:11 PMThe governor wants more control over the appointees, who typically earn six-figure salaries, serve extended terms and sometimes fail to show up for work, said Victoria Bradshaw, secretary of Schwarzenegger's Labor and Work Development Agency.