Government Operations

Recent steps toward making Washington a better place to live and work:

 

Agency consolidation/board and commission elimination: Five state agencies have been consolidated into the Department of Enterprise Services and seventeen boards and commissions have been eliminated in order to better manage state administrative functions.

Estimated cost savings: $122.4 million over the next five years is the estimated savings for agency consolidation, reflecting a net reduction in FTE of 184.  Efforts to eliminate and consolidate boards and commissions are saving the state $14,000 per biennium.

Protecting and assisting homeowners from unnecessary foreclosures:  In 2011 the legislature made significant steps in cur­tailing the devastating amount of foreclosures that have plagued neighborhoods across Washington.  The Foreclosure Fairness Act requires banks to meet with homeowners to explore op­tions outside of foreclosure and requires lenders to communi­cate early in the foreclosure process to ensure homeowners receive help from a housing counselor.

Estimated impact:  By requiring banks to pay a $250 payment on each notice of default, it is estimated that $7.5 million per year will be generated for counseling and other efforts to help struggling families facing foreclosure.

Permitting & regulatory assistance:  The Office of Regulatory Assistance was created in 2003 to provide regulatory and permitting assistance to Washingtonians.  In 2011, moved the Master Business License Service into the Department of Revenue to continue to modernize the system to make it easier and more useful to business.

Estimated impact:  Since 2007, the Office has responded to over 8,000 requests for regulatory assistance.

Pension reform: Washington has made a series of strategic reforms over the last twenty years to reduce unfunded liabilities of older pension plans.   Reforms to the state pension system, i.e., asset smoothing legislation and minimum rate legislation, as well as the performance of the State Investment Board, have produced one of the best-funded pension systems of all states, ranking 3rd in funding at 99%.

Estimated cost savings:  $3 billion in state & local funds over 25 years and a reduction in the pension system’s unfunded liability of $3.6 billion.

Performance-based contracting:  State contracts are now required to be performance-based with incentives and consequences to ensure that desired outcomes are delivered in the most cost effective manner possible.