Will the budget bells soon toll for many of California's renowned bureaucratic acronyms?
And if so, who will emerge from the fiscal battle between the CSAC (California Student Aid Commission) and the CPEC (California Postsecondary Education Commission)?
And who will be left standing from an epic throw-down involving the IWMB, the DTSC, the DOC, the OEHHA, the CARB and the DPH? (That would be the Integrated Waste Management Board, Department of Toxic Substances Control, Department of Conservation, Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, California Air Resources Board and Department of Public Health.)
The acronym smackdown begins this week.
Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg has announced a series of committee hearings on proposals to consolidate or eliminate state boards, departments and commissions to help pare down California's $24.3 billion budget deficit.
"There's no doubt that much can be done to make government work better for the people that it serves," Steinberg said in a statement. "The question is whether we do it in a smart way that maximizes taxpayer dollars while providing the oversight the public demands."
Steinberg's office put out a schedule for Policy Committee Hearings on Government Reorganization and Consolidations. Presumably, that would be PCHGRC for those in the know.
The consolidation clashes start Tuesday when the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee considers a bill -- SB 409 -- by Denise Ducheny, D-San Diego. The legislation seeks to merge freight and passenger rail oversight agencies by joining functions of the Department of Transportation, High Speed Rail Authority and Public Utilities Commission.
Then Wednesday, Senate committees take up acronym elimination bouts starting with consolidation discussions for the CSAC and CPEC. The same day, there is a three-way scrum between the DMH, DADP and EMSA -- or the Department of Mental Health, Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs and the Emergency Medical Services Authority.
The acronym smackdowns will only multiply next week when, starting June 15, Senate committees review functions, and potential consolidations, for another 30 or so state boards and departments.
NEW SENATOR: Curren Price will be sworn in as the Senate's newest member today. The Inglewood Democrat was elected last month to the seat left empty last year when Mark Ridley-Thomas was elected to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.
FUNDRAISERS: Michelle Steel of the Board of Equalization and Assemblyman Kevin de León hold separate events this evening at Chops in Sacramento.
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