DES MOINES, Iowa — The Senate passed a piece of legislation Friday on party lines that would merge, reduce membership and eliminate dozens of state commissions and boards, days after the House passed a similar bill.
It now comes back full circle to Gov. Reynolds' desk, after she made the bill a priority of hers to cut down on state government.
State commissions and boards serve as a "voice" for underrepresented communities in Iowa, sharing peoples' concerns with elected officials. But now, with these cuts likely to happen, commissioners are worried certain voices will be erased from the state government.
"There's going to be less collective power for one," said Caleb Knutson, Commissioner of Latino Affairs. "You've gotta divide the time, and that's going to be a very difficult logistical challenge."
Commissioner on the status of African Americans, Aaron Sewell, told Local 5 News on Wednesday: "There might be more lost opportunity than there is potential" with these looming cuts.
Both have been with their respective commissions for over two years each on a volunteer basis and travel across Iowa to learn what the communities' they serve would like relayed to the state government. This can include more job opportunities, housing and water issues or proving more language access, specifically to cities like Marshalltown and Perry, with greater Latin communities.
Under this legislation, the state would also review each remaining commission every four years to determine if they are necessary. Also, just one member from each commission addressing civil rights would be selected to serve the community they represent.
Commissioner Sewell said he understands "the intent of consolidation," but "there's a lot of opportunity that might be lost for people to come and feel like they're heard." And Commissioner Knutson added: "What I see as someone's who's in central Iowa is much different than someone who is in Burlington or Decorah or things like that. So you are going to lose a lot of the different voices because it's going to be cut down to one person."
Former Gov. Robert D. Ray implemented many of the state commissions and board while in office, and Commissioner Knutson said he believes the former governor would "see [the bill] as a disappointment, because of the initiatives and things he cared about."
Reynolds' office did not respond to Local 5's request for comment about the pending legislation.