INAUGURAL ADDRESS, RONALD REAGAN, 33rd
GOVERNOR of
Mr. President, Mr. President Pro Tem, Mr. Speaker and Members:
It is indeed an honor for me to
be here today and let me assure you I am looking forward to meeting with you
not only jointly but also as individuals as collectively we work together to
meet and solve the tremendous problems that confront this great and growing
state.
The people of
Just as it was necessary to
revise and revamp the Constitution to allow the Legislature the opportunity to
function better and more efficiently, so do I believe that substantial
reorganization of the executive branch is necessary if we are to serve the
people efficiently and economically.
The state government has
increased in size enormously in recent years. It is my intention to reduce the
executive branch as much as is consistent with the effective provision of
needed governmental services.
The agency plan adopted in 1961
was designed to enable the Governor to transmit his policies to the many
agencies of the state government effectively and quickly and to ensure that
those policies would be adopted in a coordinated way. These results have not
been achieved.
The only way governmental
services can be provided in a useful, effective and economical way is through
coordinated action of a unified, well-organized executive branch carrying out
policies established after proper consultation with all who are affected. Our
executive branch cannot operate in this way unless the many agencies, bureaus
and departments are grouped together in a logical manner and their day-to-day
activities are coordinated by executives operating out of the Governor's
office.
I also believe that far more
effective fiscal control and management can be obtained if we have a Director
of the Budget working out of the Governor's office, performing overall review
of programs, budgets and expenditures.
It is my hope, too, that such an
officer will speed adoption of program budgeting by all agencies so that we
will have a far better idea of how much particular activities of government are
costing the state on a year-to-year basis, and whether or not we might not
obtain more for our money.
I am convinced both by the
unanimity of the recommendations that have been made over the years and by the
logic of the proposal itself that we should consolidate all of our tax
collecting agencies into a responsible, streamlined Department of Revenue with
a director appointed and removable by the Governor and removable for cause by
the Legislature.
Proposition 1-A, which was
adopted by the voters by an overwhelming margin, authorized the Legislature to
grant to the Governor the duty to draft plans to reorganize the executive
branch of the state, and it is my earnest hope that the Legislature will adopt
legislation allowing us to proceed with this vitally needed work as soon as
possible.
I recommend that we follow the
Hoover Commission model under which these reorganization plans, once drafted,
will take effect unless disapproved by a vote of both houses of the
Legislature.