Executive Order

Executive Order  No. 205: Task force on the reorganization of state government

Date: 11/03/1981
Issuer: Edward J. King
Mass Register: No. 286

Table of Contents

WHEREAS, the General Court enacted Chapter 704 of the Acts of 1969, restructuring the executive branch of state government; and

WHEREAS, Phase One of that reorganization took effect on April 1, 1971, grouping the 300 existing administrative units in nine cabinet secretaries; and

WHEREAS, Chapter 704 of the Acts of 1969 charged each of the new cabinet secretaries to recommend to the governor such change in the laws as may be necessary to eliminate duplication and overlapping of functions, administrative practices and facilities, to combine and coordinate information systems, to create administrative structures that assure coordinated joint planning, and that establish clear and readily identifiable lines of authority and allocations of responsibility; and

WHEREAS, the Phase Two recommendations completing the cabinet reorganization have not been significantly advanced since implementation of Phase One in April, 1971; and

WHEREAS, the efficient operation of state government is hampered by antiquated line item budgeting procedures, restrictive and duplicative civil service and collective bargaining systems, bureaucratic procedures for transferring funds between accounts, and a lack of capacity for long range planning; and

WHEREAS, it is our desire to improve the equality of services to the public, to provide greater accountability and management control, and to achieve savings by avoiding duplication and disorganization; and

WHEREAS, it is critical to the successful operation of cabinet government that line authority be clearly established to fashion and direct policy and insure that it is carried out by qualified and accountable people at the agency level; and

WHEREAS, the original cabinet structure has been restructured through the creation of the Executive Office of Energy Resources and the Executive Office of Elder Affairs, and elimination of the Executive Office of Educational Affairs; and

WHEREAS, the legislature attempted to reorganize the Executive Offices of Communities and Development, Consumer Affairs and Manpower Affairs in outside sections of the fiscal 1982 general appropriation bill; and

WHEREAS, the Executive Office of Human Services mad a Phase Two recommendation on July 20, 1981; and

WHEREAS, in my veto message, H. 7101, of sections in the fiscal 1982 general appropriation bill I indicated I would create a task force to examine the organization of state government,

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Edward J. King, Governor of the Commonwealth, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the Commonwealth, do hereby order as follows:

  1. There is created a task force, to be known as the Task Force on the Reorganization of State Government, to consist of eleven members, who shall serve without compensation. The members of the Task Force shall be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the Governor. The Governor shall designate, from time to time, one member to act as Chairman.
  2. The Task Force shall form from within its own membership, such sub- committees as may be necessary to comprehensively effectuate the purposes of this order. The chairman of the Task Force as designated in the preceding paragraph shall further be responsible to nominate sub-committee chairmen as required.
  3. The Task Force is to engage in an all encompassing review and analysis of the organization and operational structure of the agencies, boards, commissions, departments and secretariats of the executive branch. A primary goal of the task force is to develop recommendations to increase accountability and management control in government operations, to improve the quality and efficiency of public services, and to reduce duplication and disorganization.
  4. The Task Force shall review the reorganization proposal made in the fiscal 1982 general appropriation bill, and the July 20, 1981 proposal made by the Executive Office of Human Services.
  5. The Task Force shall solicit recommendations from each cabinet secretary, and may accept suggestions from other interested parties as the Task Force deems appropriate.
  6. The Task Force is authorized to call upon any secretariat, office department, board, commission, council or other agency of the executive branch of state government under my jurisdiction and any officer, employee or member thereof, to supply such statistical data, program reports and other information and materials as the Task Force deems necessary or appropriate to perform its mandate.
  7. The Task Force shall submit such interim reports as it deems necessary, and a final report to the Governor on or before February 29, 1982.
  8. This order shall take effect immediately and shall continue in force until acceptance by the Governor of the Task Force's final report.

Given at the Executive Chamber in Boston this 3rd day of November in the year of Our Lord one thousand nine hundred and eighty-one and of the Independence of the United States of America two-hundred and six.

EDWARD J. KING

GOVERNOR

Commonwealth of Massachusetts

MICHAEL JOSEPH CONNOLLY

Secretary of the Commonwealth

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