There are new efforts to combine and even eliminate some state task forces, committees, and boards.
The Senate has approved a bill that would do away with boards and committees thought to no longer be necessary or viable. Those include the Dangerous Wild Animal State Emergency Response Commission and the Dangerous and Restricted Animals Advisory Board. They were set up after dozens of wild animals were let loose from a home near Zanesville in 2012, causing public melee and the deaths of more than 50 lions, tigers, bears, wolves and a baboon. The Local Government Innovation Council, which hasn’t been funded in years, is also set for elimination under this bill. And the legislation seeks to eliminate a $5 fee paid by unpaid appointees to boards and commissions. In a similar vein, the House has voted to consolidate several commissions that work with people with disabilities into one group.