OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Gov. Chris Gregoire wants to consolidate several state agencies and eliminate three dozen boards and commissions in a plan she says will save the state nearly $30 million over the next two years.
Gregoire said her proposal, announced Tuesday, would reduce the number of state agencies from 21 to nine, saving the state $22 million. The Department of Fish and Wildlife, the State Parks and Recreation Commission, the Recreation and Conservation Office and the law enforcement unit of the Department of Natural Resources would merge into a new Department of Conservation and Recreation.
More than 140 of the state’s boards and commissions were either eliminated or consolidated in past years. The move to eliminate an additional 36 would save the state an estimated $7.4 million.
