Symbols for the Symbol-Minded

The second bullet on Page 3 of Gov. Jerry Brown’s revised budget, unveiled May 14, proudly says he plans to eliminate “20 boards, commissions, task forces, offices and departments.”

Reporters were provided with a list of 22 boards, committees and commissions Brown would terminate. The savings from doing so in the Democratic governor’s proposed $132 billion spending plan represents less than what former Department of Finance director Tom Hayes referred to as “budget dust.”

The doomed entities on Brown’s list:

Accountancy Board Advisory Committee on Ethics Curriculum 

Advisory Committee on Automobile Insurance Fraud (Prevention rather than how-to tips, presumably)

Adivsory Committeee on Genetically Handicap Person’s Program 

Apiary Board (Death where is thy sting?)

California Fiscal Advisory Board (Clearly haven’t had a meeting in awhile)

California Small Business Board 

Committee on Executive Salaries 

Crine Lab Review Task Froce

Dungeness Crab Review Panel (The drawn butter was particularly piquant.)

Environmental Laboratory Techinical Advisory Committee

Food Bank Advisory Committee (Isn’t this all the advice needed: Provide more food or  create less poor.)

Green Chemistry Initiative Science Advisory Panel

Human Stem Cell Research Advisory Committee

High Technology Crime Advisory Committeee (Again: Prevention rather than tips, presumably)

Lead in Candy Interagency Collaborative

Lyme Disease Advisory Committee

Naturopathic Formulary Advisory Subcommittee

Naturopathic Childbirth Attendance Advisory Subcommittee

Noxious Weed Oversight Committee (Other than the medicinal kind, is there any other type of weed?) 

Orientation Center for the Blind Trust Fund Committee

Radiologic Technology Certification Committee

State Social Services Advisory Board Committee on Welfare and Social Services (Deserves elimination for the sake of redundancy alone unless “board” is misspelled.)

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