Cutting costs and reducing government Last year a special committee was assigned to help reduce government redundancy and to streamline and update processes to help cut costs. The House Select Committee on Government Reduction met for the first time this week, and is one of two House committees that have chairs from the minority party in order to have a more bi-partisanship process. Many suggestions have already been put forth to remove antiquated practices from government and to ensure efforts are not being duplicated, or even triplicated in some cases, in order to save money. As Vice Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, and also as a member of the select committee, my top priority is to cut costs where we can and craft a balanced budget to help all Hoosiers. Two bills that I authored, House Bills 1047 and 1255, would also help reduce government spending. HB1047 would require the Family and Social Services Administration division of disability and rehabilitative services to do a survey to find a way to streamline their auditing processes. Currently, multiple audits are conducted every year to the entities providing services to the disabled. HB 1047 would help them find a way to reduce the number of government regulations. The bill passed its third and final reading on the House floor in a vote of 97-0 and will be sent to the Senate. House Bill 1255 would require that any official document or communication that is state-related be printed solely in English. The bill provides exceptions for documents required by federal law that must be bilingual. The bill also passed its final reading on the House floor in a vote of 63-26 and will also be sent to the Senate. The House Select Committee on Government Reduction will be hearing from multiple state agencies and offices this session, including the governor's office and chambers. In that light, I would like to hear your suggestions on how to eliminate unnecessary or antiquated government practices. I have set up a poll on my website that will gather your suggestions on different matters every week. To share your opinions, please visit this link: http://www.in.gov/surveytool/public/survey.php?name=District_78_Weekly_Poll_126. I value your opinions and encourage you to provide me feedback on the issues concerning our communities and the state. As always, I will be sure to keep you updated on our progress at the Statehouse. -30-
State Rep. Suzanne Crouch (R-Evansville) |
