In the late 1960s, then-Gov. Ronald Reagan signed an executive order establishing the Governor’s Survey on Efficiency and Cost Control, a private citizen-composed commission tasked with examining and evaluating the entirety of California’s state government. The monumental effort sought to bring a fresh perspective to old systems and determine what, if anything, could be improved.
Making up the commission’s membership were 250 business and industry professionals who freely donated their time and expertise toward achieving a common goal. Over the course of 10 months, this group thoroughly examined California state agencies and developed close to 2,000 specific recommendations. Full implementation of these recommendations could have yielded hundreds of millions in state savings. The commission also anticipated that their recommendations could produce annual savings for federal and local authorities.