October 04, 2018
By:
Walter G. Wright
Category:
Arkansas Environmental, Energy, and Water Law
Arkansas Environmental, Energy, and Water Law
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Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson issued a news release and announced in an October 3rd press briefing the proposed consolidation of Cabinet-level agencies from 42 to 15.
The Governor described this action as the “first comprehensive effort to trim state government since 1972.”
Several Arkansas Environmental/Energy/Natural Resource agencies would be consolidated into a “Department of Energy and Environment” (“Department”). The Department would encompass:
- Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (“ADEQ”)
- Arkansas Public Service Commission
- Arkansas Pollution, Control, and Ecology Commission
- Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission and Board
- Arkansas Geological Survey
The following bodies are listed as subunits under ADEQ in the Department, which include:
- Committee on Petroleum Storage Tanks
- Nutrient Water Quality Trading Advisory Panel
- Arkansas Marketing Board for Recyclables
The Forestry Commission and Arkansas Natural Resources Commission would be consolidated with the Agriculture Board, State Plant Board, and Livestock & Poultry Commission into a “Department of Agriculture.”
The effects of the proposed consolidation are stated to include:
- Improve the delivery of services to Arkansas taxpayers by breaking down silos within state government
- Improve management control throughout state government through the creation of the Department of Transformation and Shared Services
- Allow agencies to maintain their independent services, where appropriate
- Create savings for the state and taxpayers beginning in the FY 2021 budget through lease and rent savings, shared services, and a more responsive management approach
A copy of the news release with links to the proposed reorganization chart and guide can be found here.
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