Alaska State Legislature
News from the House Majority

Jerry Ritter, House Majority Press Secretary
State Capitol
Juneau, AK 99801
phone: (907) 465-3804
web site: http://www.akrepublicans.org
Actuality line: 1-800-478-6540

Smaller, Smarter Government
Kohring Measure Would Merge Two State Government Departments

For Immediate Release: February 12, 1998 Contact: Rep. Alan Austerman at (907) 465-2487 or Rep. Vic Kohring at (907) 465-2186

Juneau - Representative Vic Kohring (R-Wasilla) Thursday introduced House Bill 400, which would consolidate the Department of Commerce and Economic Development and the Department of Community and Regional Affairs into one department.

"As part of the Republican-led Majority's continuing 'Commitment To Alaska' we have pledged to focus on how efficiently services are delivered to Alaskans," Kohring said. "This bill not only saves money, but should materially improve our efficiency of service."

The consolidated Department of Commerce and Rural Development would have responsibility for most of the programs currently run by the two existing departments. Some programs, such as Day Care Assistance and Headstart, would be shifted to the Department of Health and Social Services, while others, such as job training programs, would be shifted to the Department of Labor.

"With all rural economic development programs under one roof we would have one management team legislators can question and ultimately hold responsible for their delivery of services and their performance," said Representative Alan Austerman (R-Kodiak), a cosponsor of the measure. "The goal is to make things better for rural Alaskans," Austerman said.

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