STUDY: Ala. state government has shrunk third most in US since GOP took control

According to data the Washington Examiner gleaned from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley is “ranked #3 in state payroll belt-tightening among governors first elected in 2010.”

Since Bentley and the Republican-controlled legislature took office after what The Examiner referred to as “the great Tea Party midterm,” Alabama state government has shrunk from 111,300 employees down to 103,200 employees, a 7.28% decrease in three years.

Here’s what The Examiner had to say:

Republican Gov. Robert Bentley promised to save $1 billion by the end of his first term with a plan that involved “right-sizing” Alabama’s government workforce through attrition.

He got it done a year early. So far, the BLS data shows that Bentley has shed about 8,100 state workers. Alabama is still well-staffed with one state employee for every 47 residents.

“Alabamians elected us to make state government more efficient and live within our means without raising taxes or cutting essential services,” said Gov. Bentley. “State government was broke when Republicans entered office in 2011, but together with Legislative leaders, we took a serious look at how we could find savings in state government.

Gov. Bentley, House Speaker Mike Hubbard and Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh recently listed 10 reform measures they have implemented to save the state over $1 billion annually. According to their list, “streamlining and realigning” state agencies saved the state $49.5 million a year, while “right-sizing” the government workforce saved $160.7 million annually.

Here’s a full breakdown of the “right-sizing government” reforms Alabama Republicans have implemented since 2010:

• Pension Reform Measures: $345.6 million (average annual savings)
• Workforce Right-Sizing: $160.7 million (annual savings)
• SEIB/PEEHIP Employer Premiums: $118.8 million (annual savings)
• DROP Repeal: $58.5 million (annual savings)
• Indigent Defense Reform: $15.3 million (annual saving)
• Various Bond Refinancings: $20.4 million (average annual savings)
**Nearly $245.3 million total over the life of the bonds**
• Agency Streamlining and Realignment: $49.5 million (annual savings)
• Prescription Drug Exemption: $200 million (annual savings)
• Contract Renegotiations: $28.8 million (annual savings)
• Merit-Raise Freezes: $139.7 million (annual savings)
• Total Savings: $1.137 Billion

“When Republicans took over the Legislature for the first time in 136 years, we promised to make tough decisions and live within our means, just like every household in Alabama, and we’ve taken that vow seriously,” said House Speaker Mike Hubbard, R-Auburn.

“Unlike the reckless, out-of-control spending we see in the federal government, Alabama has set a strong example for how to cut spending and run a more efficient, cost-effective government,” added Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh, R-Anniston.

But House Minority Leader Craig Ford, D-Gadsden, has criticized the Republicans’ government-trimming efforts as “cowardice.”

“The governor claims he is saving millions of dollars through ‘right-sizing the state government workforce’ and ‘consolidating government agencies.’ But that really means is he is cutting spending by eliminating teachers, support personnel, and state employee jobs,” Ford said in a statement. “It means government services will slow down because fewer people are working at the agencies like Medicaid, Mental Health, and Public Safety. It means our children will be in larger classes and get less individual attention from their teachers because of it. It means fewer resources and older textbooks in our public schools. It means fewer resources for law enforcement and fewer law enforcement officers on the streets and guarding our prisons.”

Nationally, 4 of the top 5 bureaucracy-cutting governors since 2010 are Republicans. Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback led the way by slashing the size of his state’s bureaucracy by 8.89% from 57,400 state employees in 2011 to 52,300 in 2013.

Only ten states in the entire country actually reduced the size of their state workforce since 2010 — Kansas (8.89%), Maine (7.94%), Alabama (7.28%), Florida (5%), New York (5%), Georgia (2.83%), California (2.77%), Tennessee (2.46%), Hawaii (1.68%) and Ohio (0.31%).

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