2014 Governor's State of the State speeches: on Government Reform

Gary Herbert: Ongoing review of election laws to upholding public trust

Deval Patrick: To be in the leadership business, govern for the long-term

Yet, even as we celebrate that progress tonight, some things have not changed enough. We lead the country in student achievement but some of our students remain stuck in achievement gaps. We're using better tools to combat youth violence but still lose too many people to a cycle of violence. We are the only state to guarantee emergency shelter but too many people need it. Our economy is growing, booming in some quarters. But we are leaving some of our neighbors behind. If we are to be in the leadership business, we need to lead in rebuilding the ladder to success, too.

Chris Christie: Consolidate duplicative town governments into single towns

Look at what happened last year in Princeton. Princeton Borough and Princeton Township consolidated into a single government. Not two tax departments, two police forces, two offices answering the phone. The savings in one year: $3 million. That's on a budget of $64 million, a 4.7% savings. And the citizens of Princeton got this: more services, despite a smaller budget, and a reduction in municipal taxes.

This is not just my opinion--the local Reorganization & Consolidation Commission said that civil service seniority rules topped the list of barriers to shared services. Let's help our towns clear away arcane rules that stand between them and lower property taxes.

John Hickenlooper: Apply LEAN principles to EVERY state agency

LEAN, as many of you know, is a type of business audit that scours operations looking for ways to make processes run more efficiently. We have re-evaluated how EVERY state agency does business. And we have initiated more than 100 new LEAN processes, more than any state in America.

• Colorado's Department of Transportation recently reported a 19% decrease in contracting timelines. Combined with other improvements their efforts are saving more than $2 million.
• In 2008, only 33% of property assessment appeals were resolved within one year. Now, 79% are.

Earl Ray Tomblin: Dissolve state boards & councils that no longer operate

Because of this commitment to a good, responsive and efficient government, I have identified a number of boards, commissions, and councils that no longer operate, but linger on the books creating ambiguity and clutter. I plan to dissolve many of these groups by executive order, and I will submit legislation to eliminate the rest of these obsolete boards.