Senate Considers Agency Consolidation
Senate committee to study consolidating state agencies and licensing boards
A Mississippi Senate committee will hold a hearing this week looking at whether state agencies, including licensing boards, could share services or be merged.
State Sen. Tyler McCaughn, identified in the interview as chairman of the Senate Government Structure Committee, discussed the plan during an interview on "This Week on Pearl" on Oct. 14. McCaughn said the committee's Wednesday hearing would examine special-fund boards, such as those for dental examiners and registered foresters, to see whether they could consolidate operations or share accounting and other services with other agencies.
"I want to move forward and calm some of those threats and fears that are out there. I'm not targeting any agency. That's not my goal," McCaughn said. He said the committee would ask agencies "how they do it and if they do it better," including whether it makes more sense for an agency to outsource accounting functions or for the state to analyze a shared-services approach. McCaughn said no legislation has yet been drafted.
The hearing is expected to produce agency-by-agency information on duplication of services and costs, as lawmakers weigh whether multiple professional licensing boards could be combined under a single structure.