Vote Recommendation | Economic Freedom | Property Rights | Personal Responsibility | Limited Government | Individual Liberty |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
No | Neutral | Neutral | Neutral | Negative | Neutral |
Relating to the creation
of the Advisory Council on Cultural Affairs in the office of the governor.
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
SB 459 would establish the Advisory Council on Cultural
Affairs (ACCA), which would operate in the office of the governor. The stated
purpose of this council would be to advise the governor’s office “on furthering
the economic, social, legal, and political contributions and equality of the
Hispanic population of this state.”
Nine members would make up the council:
Members appointed by lieutenant governor and speaker of the
house would serve two-year terms, while the members appointed by the governor
would serve four-year terms. These appointments would have to represent all
areas of the state.
This legislation would prohibit members from receiving
compensation or reimbursement while performing their duties for the ACCA.
SB 459 specifies the duties of the ACCA. Most of these
duties would include reviewing and recommending policies on a broad range of
topics that affect the Hispanic community.
Lastly, the ACCA would be required to submit a report on a
biennial basis that would include status and funding updates for programs aimed
at addressing the needs of the Hispanic population. Most importantly, members
must make recommendations in the report regarding changes in policy or
reforms. This report must be submitted
to the governor, speaker of the house, and the lieutenant governor.
Although SB 459 would place the ACCA in an advisory role
with no real authority, we still oppose this legislation on limited government grounds.
A basic tenant of our limited government principle is that the government treats all citizens equally under the law. This bill would single out a particular group for special treatment based on ethnic background. Additionally, this council’s only focus would be to find ways of benefiting that one group. While the council itself would not be able to appropriate money for the benefit of one favored group, recommendations made be the council would almost certainly serve as the basis for future legislation to do so. This legislation runs counter to the purposes of government and for this reason we oppose SB 459.
As a final note, while the council members would serve unpaid, the creation of a council is not without cost. This would necessitate time and effort from staff members in the office of the governor to coordinate and facilitate meetings and events for the advisory council. This would add an extra burden to those staff members beyond their normal duties.