TRENTON — In 2002, when New Jersey’s motor vehicle agency was "in crisis," the state created a commission to help overhaul an agency plagued by poor customer service and poor security. Though its report was issued later that year, the "Fix DMV Commission" was only, technically, disbanded Friday. As part of an ongoing review to reduce "bureaucratic clutter," Gov....
Gov. Chris Christie signs an executive order in this January file photo.TRENTON — In 2002, when New Jersey’s motor vehicle agency was "in crisis," the state created a commission to help overhaul an agency plagued by poor customer service and poor security.
Though its report was issued later that year, the "Fix DMV Commission" was only, technically, disbanded Friday.
As part of an ongoing review to reduce "bureaucratic clutter," Gov. Chris Christie Friday signed an executive order to eliminate 60 inactive or defunct boards and commissions.
"The councils, commissions and boards targeted for elimination have quite frankly outlived their usefulness," Christie said in a statement.
Christie also released recommendations from his departments for an additional 260 boards, commissions and authorities to be closed or merged.
The governor’s office could not immediately say how much money would be saved by cleaning up the books.
The report was compiled in response to Christie’s 15th executive order(PDF), which he signed in February in an attempt to curb the cost of boards and authorities. He cracked down on "golden parachute" payments for employees leaving a job and required authorities to get clearance from the governor’s office to hire lobbyists or spend more than $250 on travel expenses.
Democrats in the Assembly and Senate have also taken steps to eliminate boards and commissions this year, and past governors sought to wipe up the inactivity created over the years. Many commissions do not come with stipends or benefits but often reimburse for transportation.
"It’s a natural part of just government," said Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Middlesex), state Democratic committee chairman. "It becomes a semantical thing. What does on the books mean? The fact that it exists on paper, if they’re not meeting, if they’re not doing anything, do they really exist?"
While the 60 eliminated groups Friday were benign, some watchdogs said a few of the recommendations not yet implemented would go too far, such as closing or merging some dealing with the environment or natural resources.
"You lose public oversight and accountability, because a lot of these boards are made up by citizens and environmentalists, and even other stakeholders," said Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey chapter of the Sierra Club, who also praised several of the recommendations. "They have an independent voice."