Malloy to consolidate agencies by 30%

HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) - He promised to reduce the size of state government during the campaign, and Governor Dannel Malloy announced a major restructuring.

He's proposing combining 81 state agencies down to 57, that is a 30 percent reduction.

Today, Malloy named famed Yale Environmental Law Professor Daniel Esty to be his new commissioner of the combined Departments of Energy and Environment, with a top priority of lowering electric rates and encouraging job growth in a smaller government agency.

"We're examining, first and foremost, all of the charges that our state adds to the bill, and in the not to distant future will report on those the we believe may be putting us at a competitive dis-advantage," says Malloy.

"I'm committed to enforcing the law, I believe that the need to take seriously the fact that every company is going to be held to the standards of the law and we'll follow through on that, but I do have a kind of a reputation for trying to engage the business community as well," says Esty.

The General Assembly has rejected efforts by the past two Republican Governors to consolidate state agencies and reduce government, they always talked about, but it never happened.

Malloy is proposing a much more ambitious overhaul than any of his predecessors, merging 81 state agencies down to just 57.

Among the many mergers he's proposing that the Department of Public Safety which is the State Police with the State Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, plus the board of Fire arms permits and examiners.

When asked today what will happen if the Assembly doesn't approve his scheme for merging agencies Malloy said "That would be a mistake."