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Gov. Jim Justice appears to have done the right thing this week in vetoing a few bills for which lawmakers' hearts may have been in the right place, but not enough homework was done. The devil is in the details, after all, and a bill for which the details were not all sorted can end up becoming bad law.
But in the case of House Bill 4020, Justice's veto was about more than just dotting Is and crossing Ts. The bill, which would have separated the Department of Health and Human Resources into two departments, was a mess. And it was the definition of bureaucracy serving itself.
Remember, HB 4020 had already been gutted of the language that was intended to help our most vulnerable children and support the foster care system, among other things. What remained was nothing more than an attempt to create a two-headed monster, without addressing any of the concerns that made it problematic in the first place.
"There have been issues ... within DHHR for decades, and some of those issues are likely the result of the sheer size and diverse scope of the agency," Justice wrote. "The bill intends in just eight pages and by amending just two sections of Code, however, to divide this complex organization that manages over $7 billion dollars of state and federal funds and employs thousands of individuals across the state."
It is unlikely any ordinary citizen who has dealt with the DHHR has said to themselves "What this agency needs is MORE red tape." And Justice knows it. Careful stewardship of taxpayer dollars was not on the minds of those who passed the bill, though some of those folks just a few short years ago stood firmly on the platform of "right-sizing state government."
"We will work to develop a plan to address any and all problems, which may very well require a full reorganization of the agency," Justice said. "But we will do so in an effective and efficient way, so we can make sure there is no lapse in any vital support or services for the West Virginians who rely on the DHHR."
King Bureaucracy despises efficiency.
But Mountain State children and families deserve better than to have to deal with a beast (or two) that feeds off taxpayer dollars with little thought to solving those "issues" Justice knows should be the priority.