House passes Franks' bill eliminating inactive boards

State Rep. Jack Franks issued the following news release on Wednesday:

Franks passes bill eliminating  boards and commissions

SPRINGFIELD – Furthering his effort to reduce waste and excess in government, state Rep. Jack Franks (D-Marengo) passed legislation through the Illinois House of Representatives on Wednesday to abolish inactive boards and commissions that have not met in two or more years.

“We must lead by example,” said Franks. “Many of these boards have sat idle for years and no longer serve a useful purpose.  We have an obligation to streamline the hundreds of boards scattered across state government.”

House Bill 3816 requires that a board or commission which failed to meet at least once, during a period of two consecutive years, would be immediately dissolved. Only boards or commissions authorized or created by the Governor, by statue, or the Illinois Constitution to which the Governor has authority to appoint members, would be subject to the meeting requirement. The legislation includes a notification and appeal process, should a board or commission wish to request an exemption. Twenty-three percent of standing boards or commissions reported they were inactive between Fiscal Years 2007-2009.

Franks also chairs the Local Government Consolidation Committee, which is charged with streamlining taxing units and investigating ways to save taxpayer money.

“While we ask local governments to shoulder more burdens and increase efficiency, we must demonstrate our seriousness in addressing waste under our own purview in state government,” continued Franks.  “At least 70 boards and commissions have not met in years - we have an obligation to eliminate them and save taxpayer dollars.”