Experts Agree: Reforming government no easy task

*First appeared in the August 8, 2013 edition of the Laurel Chronicle.

A few weeks ago, I set out on a mission to Jackson’s rare and used bookstore (for reference, google “Choctaw Books”) to find something truly unique. While I found something pretty special, I don’t know that I’d call it “unique.”

My purchase was the Report on a Survey of the Organization and Administration of State and County Government in Mississippi, a nearly 1,000-page bound report conducted by the Brookings Institution way back in 1932. (You may recognize this name, as Brookings was the first private organization devoted to the fact-based study of national public policy issues. Today, the organization is heralded as one of the foremost advocates for effective and efficient public service and government operations.)

In the early 30s, the Mississippi Legislature created a citizen-led Research Commission (which included Laurel-native Wallace B. Rogers) to conduct “expert investigation into, and study and analysis of all conditions of the state.” In turn, the Research Commission asked the Brookings Institution to study the state’s processes and make recommendations on reform.

I was reminded of all this last week when I read an editorial calling for state government to increase accountability, efficiency, and transparency. It’s a novel idea, but certainly not a new - nor a unique - one.

The editorial gave a few examples of areas that need reform, including the more than 200 agencies, boards, and commissions that are part of Mississippi's government largesse. Similarly, Brookings opined in 1932 that one of the chief defects in Mississippi's structure was the “scattering of related functions among many offices due to the creation of numerous independent boards and departments with little references to previously established offices...Mississippi finds itself possessed of a large number of more or less independent and uncorrelated agencies.”

Instead of consolidating boards and commissions, as Brookings recommended, eight decades later we’ve seen our boards and commissions grow by 150 percent than at the time the Brookings report was published.

Other recommendations from the 1932 report include converting elected positions, such as State Treasurer and Highway Commissioners, to gubernatorially-appointed positions requiring consent of the Senate.

Another novel, yet historically doomed, idea. Candidates, legislators, and lobbyists have been resistant to this concept.

Mississippians are used to voting on, well, everything. We may not know what the Treasurer does, but we sure as heck want to cast our vote for him or her. It gives us the feeling that "we're in control" but also drives up government costs. For example, our highway system is governed by three commissioners elected from their respective districts. This process can result in fragmented oversight and an apparent lack of accountability (which is likely why most every other state has transitioned to an appointed, not elected, highway commissioner system).

Of course, others have recommended major reforms as well. Especially with the onslaught of the recession, Gov. Barbour proposed major structural changes to the way government operates in order to reduce costs while increasing efficiencies. While some cost-cutting measures were adopted, most of these bold changes met great resistance in the Legislature.

They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, yet expecting a different outcome. With that in mind, it seems those of us who believe government can be reformed have a touch of insanity.

But, I think there’s good reason to keep the reform mindset. Unlike when Gov. Barbour was in office, Republicans now have control of the Legislature and have promised real change. Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves appointed Sen. Nancy Collins to head up a newly-created Accountability, Efficiency, and Transparency committee to review creative reform ideas. The House of Representatives created a similar committee, and Gov. Bryant has voiced his support for government reforms.

So far, the Republican-led Legislature has made good on its promise, passing landmark legislation to consolidate certain struggling school districts and reduce the amount of vehicles owned by the state by prohibiting unnecessary car purchases. Together, these laws have saved taxpayer dollars while promoting efficiency.

Let’s hope our policymakers – legislators, agency heads, and government employees – heed the 1932 warning issued by the Brookings Institution that still applies today: “Mississippi can poorly afford to sanction worn-out methods, cumbersome organization, and diffusion of responsibility in its government simply because these conditions have prevailed for years.”