[nfbmi-talk] Article from M-Live.com about Commission

[Fred Wurtzel]

Snyder issues executive order transferring duties of Commission for the
Blind

Published: Friday, February 24, 2012,  2:23 PM     Updated:Friday, February
24, 2012,

3:07 PM

Maria Amante | mamante at mlive.com

By

Maria Amante | mamante at mlive.com

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Gov. Rick Snyder.jpg

File photo

LANSING -- Gov. Rick Snyder issued an executive order this morning

which eliminates the Commission for the Blind and transfers its services

to other state agencies.

The commission is now the Blind and Visually Impaired Services

Advisory Board which will assume all of the former commission's

responsibilities. The new advisory board will be overseen by the Department
of Human

Services and was previously overseen by the Department of Licensing and
Regulatory

Affairs.

Related:

Read the text of the executive order.

"We're

reshaping state government so it offers a more intuitive, effective and

efficient system of services," Snyder said in a statement. "This executive
order

is an

important step in

that ongoing process. As a result, our blind and visually impaired

residents will have better access to comprehensive information and

resources."

Also, with the executive order, the Business Enterprise Program is also
transferred

the Department of Technology, Management and Budget. According to the
governor's

statement, the program oversees statutes that give the blind preference in
state

vending and food operations, which are located in state-owned property.

In an email, Richard Stevens of the Association for the Blind and Visually
Impaired

said that the organization appreciates the governor's goals, but "efficiency
must

be balanced against effectiveness."

"We need to further examine this consolidation to be certain that it doesn't
weaken

the voices of those who most need services and that necessary services to
individuals

with blindness remain readily accessible," Stevens wrote.

The commission was formed over 30 years ago, Ken Silfven, the governor's
deputy press

secretary said.

"Its work is no less important, but it stands to reason as

Michigan evolves, we can find ways to do things even better," he said.
"We're working

smarter and more efficiently so that citizens get the best possible

service."

E-mail the author of this story:

mamante at mlive.com