EXECUTIVE ORDER NUMBER 4

WHEREAS, the State of Alabama is facing unprecedented budgetary challenges and increasing demands for essential public services;

WHEREAS, Alabama faces a budget shortfall which may be in the hundreds of millions of dollars in the 2011-2012 General Fund budget, and immediate action should be taken to limit any amount of proration which may be required to balance the budget;

WHEREAS, the citizens of Alabama deserve honest, efficient, and transparent government free of fraud, waste and abuse;

WHEREAS, Alabama citizens and businesses are entitled to an efficient and effective state government, and revenues collected from Alabama taxpayers must be spent as responsibly as our citizens spend their own money;

WHEREAS, to ensure that Alabama provides essential services while responsibly spending funds, our State agencies, departments and commissions should conduct a comprehensive and systematic evaluation of the effectiveness and need for their current spending;

WHEREAS, this comprehensive review should identify any duplicative, outdated, unnecessary and ineffective services and service delivery methods so that they may be eliminated and so that available funds are focused on the essential functions of state government.

NOW THEREFORE, based upon those considerations, and for other good and valid reasons which relate thereto, I, Robert Bentley, Governor of the State of Alabama, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the State of Alabama, do hereby create the Alabama Commission on Improving State Government, to be led by a Chair and composed of additional members, all of whom shall serve at the pleasure and direction of the Governor.

BE IT FURTHER ORDERED that the Commission shall analyze, ascertain and explore ways to reduce government waste and spending with minimal or no reduction in services to citizens by evaluating the merits of privatizing services, streamlining processes, creating public-private partnerships, and other means to reduce government expenditures.

BE IT FURTHER ORDERED that the Chair of the Commission shall be appointed by the Governor and shall be responsible for the administrative functions of the Commission. The Commission’s responsibilities shall be:

• To work with the Legislature and the Governor’s policy office to study and recommend ways in which Alabama government can be more efficient and effective;

• To meet with business leaders from across the state and to take suggestions from them as to ways to achieve the Commission’s stated goals;

• To launch a website that gives citizens the opportunity to offer suggestions for ways to make government more effective and responsive;

• To research and gauge the effectiveness of methods used by similar commissions in other states to achieve like goals;

• To set comprehensive, specific objectives for improving the effectiveness, efficiency, transparency, and response time of state government;

• To create any subcommittees deemed necessary by the Chairman to further develop a plan to achieve the stated goal of the Commission;

• To undertake such further and additional duties, assignments and responsibilities as the Governor may subsequently assign.

BE IT FURTHER ORDERED that the Chairman and any members of the Commission shall serve on a voluntary basis, and the Commission shall be staffed by existing employees who shall perform the duties assigned in addition to their regularly assigned duties, at no additional cost to State. A preliminary report of the Commission shall be delivered to the Governor by June 1, 2011, but the Commission shall continue to meet subsequently and regularly.

BE IT FURTHER ORDERED that this Executive Order shall become effective immediately upon its execution and shall remain in effect until amended or modified by the Governor.

DONE AND ORDERED this 25th day of January, 2011.

Robert Bentley

Governor

Attested

Beth Chapman

Secretary of State