Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson told the Government Structure Committee of the Mississippi Senate on Wednesday that he was able to streamline some of Arkansas’ government services without letting any workers go or firing them.
When Hutchinson was governor of Arkansas from 2015 to 2023, he said that he wanted to restructure the state government as part of his legacy. Most of the changes he made to the system have stayed in place.
The two-term GOP governor talked about the restructuring in a recent chat he had with an Arkansas lawmaker. When Hutchinson asked the senator how people felt about the changes, the lawmaker said that most people didn’t notice them.
Hutchinson said, “And I said, ‘That’s the best answer I could ever have.'” “That means no one is trying to take it apart.” They agree that it’s how the government works now, and I hope it will have a lasting effect.
As part of his plan to combine government tasks, Hutchinson said he set up an advisory board to give him advice. He set three goals for the board when he made it: to improve the delivery of services to customers, to make management more accountable, and to encourage efficiency and savings.
When Hutchinson followed the board’s advice, he cut the number of people working for the state government by 5,000 by putting in place a flexible hiring freeze and choosing not to fill certain roles when people retired.
Hutchinson also merged a number of state boards and commissions, which he thought cut down on the money people spent on renting government offices.
Earlier this year, Hutchinson ran for president for a short time but failed. In January, he dropped out of the Republican race. His statement was part of a Senate Government Structure Committee hearing on how to change the way Mississippi’s government works.
Source: Former Arkansas Gov. Hutchinson gives Mississippi lawmakers tips on streamlining government
