House targets nearly 50 panels for elimination or consolidation

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Nearly four dozen state boards, commissions and committees would be killed or consolidated under a House bill overwhelming passed Wednesday.

The bill, intended to shrink state government, passed the House 96-1.

According to one of its sponsors, Rep. John Driscoll, D-Spokane, the proposal would save an estimated $500,000 per year on expenses ranging from stationery to travel. Members of the panels typically serve without pay.

The House bill must be reconciled with a similar measure approved in the Senate.

Some of the panels retired by House Bill 2617 were established more than 30 years ago; others have been around just a few years. What links them is an agreement by legislators that, however valuable they may once have been, they are no longer needed, according to a news release from Driscoll.

Here’s a list of the boards, commissions and committees scheduled for elimination or consolidation under the House bill:

• Airport Impact Mitigation Advisory Board
• Athletic Training Advisory Committee
• Basic Health Advisory Committee
• Boards of Law Enforcement and Correctional Training Standards
• Citizens Advisory Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse
• Combined Fund Drive
• Committee on Agency Officials’ Salaries
• Community Transition Coordination Networks Advisory Committee
• Driver Instructor Advisory Committee
• Emergency Medical Services Licensing and Certification Advisory Committee
• Employee Retirement Benefits Board
• Environmental Land Use Hearings Board
• Family Practice Education Advisory Board
• Fire Protection Policy Board
• Hazardous Substance Mixed Waste Advisory Board
• Health and Welfare Advisory Board
• Property and Liability Advisory Board
• Higher Education Coordinating Board Advisory Council
• Higher Education Coordinating Board Research Advisory Group
• Industry Cluster Advisory Commission
• Integrated Justice Information Board
• Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee
• K-20 Educational Network Board
• K-20 Network Technical Steering Committee
• Land Bank Technical Advisory Committee
• Migratory Waterfowl Art Committee
• Mortgage Broker Commission
• Oil Spill Advisory Committee
• Olympic Natural Resources Center Policy Advisory Board
• On-Site Sewage Disposal Systems Alternative Systems Technical Review Committee
• On-Site Wastewater Technical Advisory Committee
• Orthodontics and Prosthetics Advisory Committee
• Interagency Integrated Pest Management Coordinating Committee
• Performance Audit Citizens’ Advisory Board
• Pesticide Advisory Board
• Regional Fisheries Enhancement Group Advisory Board
• Revenue-Simplified Sales and Use Tax Administrative Advisory Group
• Special License Plate Review Board
• State Board on Geographic Names
• Solid Waste Advisory Committee
• Strategic Health Care Planning Office Technical Advisory Committee
• Vehicle Equipment Safety Commission
• Veterans Innovation Program Board
• Washington Main Street Advisory Committee
• Water Supply Advisory Committee
• Western States School Bus Advisory Commission
• Women’s History Consortium Board of Advisors

-- Yakima Herald-Republic