Governor Orders State ‘Performance Review’

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger issued an executive order Tuesday launching a “performance review” of state government and then urged citizens to call a toll-free number to contribute ideas.

Schwarzenegger named the deputy state comptroller of Texas, Billy Hamilton, and veteran state government administrator Chon Gutierrez, now interim director of the Department of Motor Vehicles, as co-executive directors of the review.

Hamilton and Gutierrez said they would recruit and train 150 employees from different parts of state government to handle the review. These will be divided into 14 committees, each studying an area of state government service.

A California Performance Review Commission will be formed, with members yet to be named.

Schwarzenegger’s executive order says the results of the review should be delivered to him by June 30.

“There’s a window on changing the government. It opens and closes very rapidly,” said Hamilton, a former KPMG Peat Marwick executive who has advised similar performance reviews in Oklahoma, North Carolina and Louisiana.

Hamilton said the state’s fiscal crisis provided an opportunity for a broad reassessment.

Aides offered few other details and were unable to give a cost estimate for the effort. Paul Miner, a senior aide to Schwarzenegger, said the governor did not want to set any specific target for budget savings in the review, and he added that it would not be “about cutting state workers’ jobs.” The goal, aides said, is a more responsive and open government.

Hamilton and Gutierrez said they first wanted to gather as many ideas as possible. In addition to the phone line, (877) END-WASTE, a website (www.cpr.ca.gov) has been set up on which state employees can sign up to participate in the review or submit ideas.

Gutierrez said the review would also seek participation from academics and entrepreneurs.