Iowa lawmakers vote to eliminate dozens of boards and commissions. See which ones will go:

Iowa will eliminate dozens of state boards and commissions under a bill headed to Gov. Kim Reynolds' desk for her signature.

The legislation was a priority for Reynolds, who proposed the mergers as part of her efforts to further shrink state government, following a massive government reorganization plan she signed into law last year that reduced cabinet-level state government agencies from 37 to 16.

The Iowa Senate voted 32-14 Friday along party lines to pass Senate File 2385, sending it to Reynolds after House lawmakers passed the measure Wednesday.

"Government works for the people, not the other way around," Reynolds said in a statement. "We should be consistently reviewing and improving the quality of services we provide. The bill headed to my desk today is a continuation of that work. It eliminates unnecessary and redundant boards and commissions, returning accountability to the people of Iowa through their elected representatives."

House and Senate Republicans had been at odds over how to handle Reynolds' original proposal, which would have consolidated 111 of Iowa's 256 boards and commissions, shrinking the number by 43%.

House Republicans initially proposed a narrower bill that would have eliminated about 49 boards and commissions that they described as defunct, while the Senate used Reynolds' bill as its starting point.

The final bill eliminates 67 boards and commissions, merges a number of others and reduces the membership of several boards.

The bill would also require every remaining board and commission to be reviewed once every four years to determine whether it should continue to exist. That process would be carried out by a new committee: the State Government Efficiency Review Committee.

Democrats said the bill goes too far and diminishes Iowans' voices in state government.

"We should welcome Iowans’ voices as checks and balances," said Sen. Janice Weiner, D-Iowa City. "We should welcome their expertise and input and not diminish it. This could have been a really positive process that we need. Instead, it ends up consolidating more power in the executive."

Reynolds' proposal is based on recommendations from a review committee established as part of last year's government reorganization.

The bill requires governmental bodies, including boards and commissions, to offer hybrid, virtual or remote options for the public to participate.

It also removes the requirement that most boards meet at specific meeting times, or hold meetings at certain intervals, such as quarterly or monthly.

Reynolds also signed a law this month eliminating the requirement that mandates a balance of men and women on state and local boards and commissions. The gender balance rule will be repealed effective July 1.

More: Kim Reynolds signs law repealing gender balance requirement for Iowa boards and commissions

Democrats oppose Iowa Civil Rights Commission changes

Democrats in the House and Senate raised concerns about how the bill would change the Iowa Civil Rights Commission.

The bill places many of the duties of the commission — which hears cases alleging discrimination in housing, employment and other areas — under the Office of Civil Rights, which is overseen by a director appointed by Reynolds.

The bill would also reduce the commission's membership from seven to five. Its members are appointed by the governor.

The Iowa-Nebraska NAACP spoke out against the changes, urging lawmakers to leave the commission untouched.

Weiner said the bill will "dissolve the Iowa Civil Rights Commission in all but name."

"The Iowa Civil Rights Act vests authority in an independent commission removed from politics," she said. "This bill with this amendment will dismantle that authority and assign it to a single political appointee. It strips the commission of all meaningful authority and converts the commissioners into advisers to the director."

More: Iowa lawmakers weigh big changes to Civil Rights Commission in move to cut state boards

Another change would eliminate the commissions on the Status of African Americans, Asian and Pacific Islanders, Persons with Disabilities, the Status of Women, Native American Affairs and Latino Affairs and transfer those commissions' duties to the Human Rights Board, which would be reduced in size.

An analysis of the bill by Iowa's nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency provides a look at how Iowa's boards and commissions would change.

Boards and commissions that would be eliminated

• Advisory Committee for Children with Special Health Care Needs

• Advisory Committee for Perinatal Guidelines

• Advisory Council for Public Outdoor Recreation and Resources

• Advisory Council on Brain Injuries

• Area Education Agency Advisory Group

• Autism Council

• Board of Hearing Aid Specialists

• Board of Pharmacy Alternates

• Child Care Advisory Committee

• Child Support Services Task Force on Liens and Motor Vehicle Registrations

• Commercial Air Service Retention and Expansion Committee

• Commercial Pesticide Applicator Peer Review Panel

• Commission of Latino Affairs

• Commission of Native American Affairs

• Commission on Community Action Agencies

• Commission on Educator Leadership and Compensation

• Commission on Status of African Americans

• Commission on Status of Asian and Pacific Islanders

• Commission on Status of Persons with Disabilities

• Commission on Status of Women

• Community College Council and Nonpublic School Advisory Committee

• Community College Faculty Advisory Committee

• Community Mental Health Centers and Disability Services Standards Advisory Committee

• Congenital and Inherited Disorders Advisory Committee

• Conservation Education Program Board

• Consumer Advisory Panel

• Dependent Adult Protective Advisory Council

• Early Childhood Stakeholders Alliance

• Emergency Medical Services Advisory Council

• Enhance Iowa Board

• Family Development and Self-Sufficiency Council

• Farm Deer Council

• Farmer Advisory Committee

• Federal Clean Air Act Compliance Advisory Panel

• Fire Extinguishing System Contractors and Alarms Systems Advisory Board

• Grain Industry Peer Review Panel

• Hawki Board

• Horizontal and Vertical Infrastructure Bid Threshold Committee

• Integrated Roadside Vegetation Management Technical Advisory Committee

• Interagency Coordinating Council

• Interstate Cooperation Commission

• Interstate Midwest Energy Commission

• Iowa Collaboration for Youth Development Council

• Iowa Council on Homelessness

• Iowa Cultural Trust Board of Trustees

• Iowa Drug Policy Advisory Council

• Iowa Great Places Board

• Justice Advisory Board

• Leadership Council for Child Care Training and Development

• Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture Advisory Board

• Ongoing Quality Faculty Plan Professional Development Committee

• Organic Advisory Council

• Postsecondary Course Audit Committee

• Prison Industries Advisory Board

• Private Pesticide Applicator Peer Review Panel

• Public Employment Relations Board

• Public Funds Interest Rates Committee

• Public Policy Research Foundation

• Secondary Road Fund Distribution Committee

• State Advisory Board for Preserves

• State Child Care Advisory Committee

• Streamlined Sales Tax Advisory Council

• Street Construction Fund Distribution Advisory Committee

• Telecommunication Advisory Committee

• Tourist Signing Committee

• Trauma System Advisory Council

• Watershed Planning Advisory Council

• Well Contractors' Council

New and merging boards that would be created by the bill

• Behavioral Science, Psychology, and Social Work into the Board of Behavioral Health Professionals

• Iowa Child Death Review Team, Child Fatality Review Committee, and Iowa Domestic Abuse Death Review Team into the State Mortality Review Committee

• Commission of Deaf Services and Dual Party Relay Council

• Iowa Special Education Council

Boards whose membership would be reduced by the bill

• Architectural Examining Board from 7 to 5

• Board of Education from 10 to 9

• Human Rights Board voting members from 11 to 7

• Iowa Accountancy Examining Board from 8 to 5

• Iowa Civil Rights Commission from 7 to 5

• Iowa Innovation Council from 29 to 9

• Real Estate Appraiser Examining Board from 7 to 5

• State Fire Service and Emergency Response Council from 11 to 7

• State Historical Society Board from 12 to 7

Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on Twitter at @sgrubermiller.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa Legislature votes to eliminate dozens of boards and commissions