There are 250 state boards and commissions in the commonwealth, but a Pittsburgh-area lawmaker said there’s no full understanding of what they do and how they spend state money.
Sen. Randy Vulakovich (R-Shaler) sponsored Senate Resolution 138, passed in June, that led to a new study to answer those and other questions.
“The Legislative Budget and Finance Committee will study these boards of commissioners and everything -- what their duties, their obligations, their salaries, compensation, fringe benefits, health care pensions, where they get a car, where they collect per diems; they’ll study all of this,” Vulakovich said.
Committee members will then make potential cost-savings recommendations. A board or commission might not be needed, he said, or could be combined with another.
According to Vulakovich, the commonwealth doesn’t have a comparable, current method to keep tabs on spending.
“It always scares me when there’s something going on in such a big business like state government," he said. "You ask people ... ‘How many boards? And how are the people picked to be on those boards? And what (are) the term limits? And do they get paid? What benefits do they get?’ And people say, ‘I really don’t know.’”
The study is expected to take six months, but could be extended to ensure all data collection is complete, Vulakovich said.
