The Blog

Governor Chris Gregoire

02/10/09

My proposals to reform Washington state government represent the first step in what will be a long-term effort to revamp how programs and services are provided throughout the state. These initiatives will:

Reduce the size of the bureaucracy: More than 150 boards, commissions and advisory committees would be eliminated and others would be consolidated, including the Health Care Authority and the Department of Retirement Systems. All 470 of the current boards were created with the best intentions, but often make it harder and more expensive to serve the people of the state.

Deliver 21st-century customer service: Washington has been a national leader for years in using technology to serve customers. For example, nearly 40 percent of license tabs are renewed online. We can do more to make sure our citizens have the same 24/7 online convenience, whenever practicable, whenever they deal with state government.

Streamline government operations: Washington will consolidate similar functions and cut government’s internal red tape for services needed by all agencies. This could be as simple as merging payroll or IT offices.

In these tough times, government, just like business, must re-tool. Washington will continue to lead the way in effective and efficient state services.