For every new rule, regulation, or policy enacted by the state, lawmakers and bureaucrats would be forced to erase two from the books.
State department heads should start using artificial intelligence to save hours of manpower. In an effort to help communities, the government must offload its unused properties and return them to the tax rolls.
These were among the 54 proposals offered by Gov. Kelly Ayotte’s Commission on Government Efficiency, assembled nearly a year ago to find inefficiencies and unrealized potential in New Hampshire state government.
The recommendations from the governor’s 15-member advisory group, which she published on Thursday, explore everything from workforce challenges to outdated technology to restructuring parts of state government.
They set out to improve government efficiency, which the report defines as “ensuring taxpayer dollars go as far as possible, that services are delivered seamlessly, and that the dedicated men and women of state government have the tools and time to do their jobs well.” The report did not detail how much money the proposals could save.
The commission “dug into the day-to-day realities of how government works, and their recommendations reflect that,” Ayotte said in a statement. “These are practical improvements that will help us better serve Granite Staters.”
What’s in it?
Among the proposals is a push to return state employees to in-person work. The co-chairs of COGE, former governor Craig Benson and Bedford businessman Andy Crews, said in the report that remote work doesn’t deliver the quality of communication, relationships and responsiveness that public service requires.
Ayotte said a few of the ideas have “especially strong potential.”
For one, the commission said New Hampshire should start using generative AI as an automation tool to help staff. For example, employees could use AI to review contracts for compliance with the state’s standards.
Another is a “one in, two out” philosophy: meaning that any time the state enacts a new rule or regulation, two ineffective or unnecessary ones would be scrapped. This would help prevent a build-up of old policies that slow down government over time, Benson and Crews said.
With school districts accounting for most of local property taxes — and facing growing discontent from taxpayers over rising costs — Benson and Crews said New Hampshire should make schools’ budget information, as well as their student proficiency rates and other accountability measures, more accessible to residents.
Slimming down state government
While offering remedies to make government jobs more enticing for workers, the group listed multiple areas where they saw redundancy and unnecessary bureaucracy.
They pushed for a review of the New Hampshire University System, particularly its middle and upper management, and said any money saved by reductions in administrative bloat should be put toward curriculum and financial aid.
“While competitive compensation is necessary to attract strong leadership, the widening gap between executive pay and classroom investment calls for closer scrutiny,” Benson and Crews said. “Every dollar spent on duplicative administration, excessive management layers, or nonessential functions is a dollar not going toward teaching and student aid. The goal of public higher education should be simple: to make the maximum possible impact on students and the state’s workforce, not on bureaucracy.”
The Republican-led Legislature already chopped $18 million from its contributions to the university system’s budget, which funds the University of New Hampshire, Keene State College and Plymouth State University. That’s already led to student frustrations over canceled study-away programs and limited dining hall hours at UNH.
The committee also suggested restructuring the “behemoth”-sized Department of Health and Human Services. With more than $7 billion in state spending allocated there over the next two years, it accounts for almost half of the entire state budget.
It may have grown too large to function properly, Benson and Crews said, making it difficult to manage and hold accountable. They suggested state officials undertake a more thorough study of whether to split up the agency that handles public wellness, mental health, family services and child protection into several different departments.
The report also floated reducing the number of public information officers, who are responsible for relaying information from the government to the public. Many state agencies have multiple of those roles, even when public communication tends to filter through one spokesperson. Benson and Crews said department heads should look at how to consolidate those positions.
Now what?
Since Ayotte announced the efficiency initiative on her first day as governor, the group only met publicly twice. Most of their work happened behind the scenes, in individual conversations with state commissioners and employees, business leaders and organizations. The public was also invited to submit their thoughts for consideration.
The resulting ideas, marking the completion of the group’s work, are just that — ideas.
As an advisory board, COGE carries no authority to make any changes on its own, so if the state wants to actually implement anything the group came up with, they’ll need to go through the governor or the Legislature.