Vermont Governor Phil Scott has issued three executive orders to restructure parts of state government. The new Republican governor says the new agencies are designed to improve administrative functions, expand the economy and make the state more affordable.
Governor Scott’s first Executive Ordercreates a new Agency of Economic Opportunity by reorganizing the Agency of Commerce and Community Development and the Department of Labor.
The second unifies the state's information technology portfolio under a new Agency of Digital Services. The third combines the Department Of Liquor Control and the State Lottery Commission into one commission.
In a statement, Governor Scott says the proposed changes will “…create more responsive, nimble organizational structures that allow us to more directly align our economic development and workforce efforts, and provide more efficient, effective and outcome-driven service to Vermonters.”
Middlebury College Political Science Professor emeritus Eric Davis: “Probably the most important of the reorganizations is merging the Department of Labor into the Agency of Commerce and Community Development. And the Governor argued that there’s a disconnect in Vermont right now between the skills that employers are looking for and the skills that workers have. And he argues that there needs to be a lot more emphasis on continuous training and development throughout one’s working life. The acquisition of skills needs to be something that takes place throughout life. And I think by merging Labor and Commerce together the Governor is hoping perhaps to do more with this in terms of workforce development.”
The Ethan Allen Institute is a conservative think tank in Vermont. President Rob Roper calls the changes encouraging and an innovative approach to structuring government. “I’m particularly interested and encouraged by the fact that he’s merging the marketing department with economic development. I think that that’s a very smart move. The way we sell ourselves to people to come here as tourists is certainly important but it’s also important to show how we market ourselves to people who want to come here maybe live and have a career.”
Roper says he hasn’t assessed how the proposal may save the state money but expects it to make state government much more efficient. “People in different silos are going to have the opportunity to work together and say okay well if we want businesses to come to Vermont how are we going to market that, the lifestyle that we’ve always been marketing? Hey you can ski here. But how are we going to market that to businesses? We have a technology service here that ‘s really growing and there’s some great opportunities for. And the policy aspect of that is okay now how are we going to implement policies that make this an affordable place to live with a good regulatory environment that’s good for business with a lifestyle that you’re really going to love when you come here? That’ll be the efficiencies that we bring.”
The Executive Orders will take effect April 17th unless “disapproved by the General Assembly.”
