Cupp Wins Unanimous House Approval to Eliminate Government Waste by Abolishing Defunct Boards and Commissions

COLUMBUS—The Ohio House recently passed House Bill 31, sponsored by State Representative Bob Cupp (R-Lima), which eliminates from Ohio statute 10 government boards that are obsolete or nonoperational, including the Government Contracting Advisory Council. The vote was unanimous.

The Government Contracting Advisory Council was created in 2005 and charged with reviewing the rules of financial accountability for companies contracting with a state agency. However, the council has had no business to conduct for years, rendering it unnecessary, yet it legally must still hold a meeting every two years. Its own members have questioned why it still exists.

Additionally, the bill revives the RECLAIM Advisory Committee, which was inadvertently terminated on December 31, 2016 after accidentally being omitted from the Sunset Review Committee’s list for renewal. Its formal title is the Reasoned and Equitable Community and Local Alternatives to the Incarceration of Minors. The Committee, which includes representatives of Juvenile Court Judges, County Courts, and Juvenile Court Administrators, advises the Department of Youth Services about its program to divert youthful offenders from the state institutions to community-based treatment programs.

“As spring is a time for cleaning, the bill does a little spring cleaning, removing things from the law that no longer have any use or value, but spring is also the time for renewal and rebirth, so the bill revives an advisory committee that does have value,” Representative Cupp said.

House Bill 31 now goes to the Ohio Senate for further consideration.