Note I was refraining from any criticism, but some people were carrying it too far and attacking those giving any credit to Arnold.
FRom AP on Bakersfield Caifornian
A look at draft proposals from the California Performance Review California Performance Review recommendations at a glance:
-Eliminate 12,000 state jobs through attrition
-Combine 11 state agencies and 79 departments into 11 departments
- Merge 25 state entities into one California Infrastructure Department
- Gain higher lottery proceeds by joining other states for large lottery payouts
- Cut travel costs by booking all airline flights online
- Let Californians renew driver's licenses online
- Merge 20 state entities into new Department of Education and Work Force Preparation run by the governor
- Abolish county superintendent offices and county boards of education
- Change cutoff date for kindergarten from Dec. 2 to Sept. 1, requiring children to be older upon entry
- Ask Medi-Cal recipients to contribute more for doctors visits and prescription drugs
- Eliminate 118 of 339 boards and commissions in executive branch
- Require community service from students at public colleges and universities
- Raise out-of-state college and university fees
- Issue electronic debit cards for Women, Infant and Children's program
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Estimated five-year savings from recommendations:
$13 billion, general government
$7.6 billion, public safety
$6.4 billion, statewide operations
$4.9 billion, health and human services
$4.1 billion, education, training and volunteerism
$3.3 billion, infrastructure
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Suggested boards and commissions to eliminate:
Banking Advisory Council
Board of Barbering and Cosmetology
Bureau of Hearing Aid Dispensers Advisory Committee
California Horse Racing Board
Contractors State Licensing Board
Integrated Waste Management Board
Fair Employment and Housing Commission
Industrial Welfare Commission
Air Resources Board
Board of Forestry and Fire Protection
California Transportation Commission
High Speed Rail Authority
Board of Prison Terms
California Energy Commission
Franchise Tax Board
State Lands Commission
State Water Resources Control Board
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Among other suggestions:
-Turn driver's license written tests into a learning experience. Applicants couldn't fail, because they would be fed new questions by a touch-screen computer kiosk until they got enough correct. The report says nearly a third of otherwise good drivers routinely fail, and there is little correlation between failing the test and driving performance or accident rates.
-Allow "e-payments," so people and businesses could pay their state bills electronically.
-Use two-year state budgets to give officials time to evaluate programs.
-Transfer more than a tenth of state roadways to local governments to operate and maintain.
-Use radar-controlled cameras to enforce highway work zone speed laws. Violators would be mailed a ticket, similar to new red light cameras.
Source: California Performance Review