The third hearing for the Senate Bill 79, the Sunset Review Bill, will be held on Wednesday, June 28. The bill would
give small committees of legislators the ability to eliminate or
"sunset" entire state agencies if they feel that those agencies are
inefficient or ineffective.
OCSEA says the bill, which mirrors similar bill in the Ohio House, is repetitive and a waste of taxpayer funds. In fact, the most recent state budget bill already includes additional tools for legislators to reign in agency costs, says the union.
Join OCSEA for opposition testimony:
Ohio Statehouse - Senate Finance Hearing Room
Wed. June 28 @ 9:45 a.m.
SB 79, introduced by Sen. Kris Jordan, mirrors House Bill 51, which was introduced by Rep. Keith Faber. This is Faber’s second attempt to dismantle state agencies. Many are attributing his hard-line on government efficiency to no more than resume building since it is expected that he plans to run for State Auditor in 2018.
During the testimony given by Rep. Faber, Democratic legislators questioned the legitimacy of a law that would leave Ohioans in limbo, lump together customer service standards, and violate the balance of powers by calling into question the efficiency of state agency heads.
Gov. John Kasich vetoed Senate Billl 329, a previous version of Faber’s bill in December 2016. Many believed the bill as vetoed because of balance of powers. The law would empower the legislative branch by eliminating a future check on its authority by the executive branch, which Kasich oversees. OCSEA applauded the veto, calling it a common sense approach.
OCSEA has previously testified that there are plenty of tools already in place to maintain efficiency in state agencies, and that OCSEA union members in state service are on the front line of those endeavors every day.