Sunset Subcommittee

Created through a bill sponsored by Sen. Ben Kieckhefer, R-Reno, the Sunset Subcommittee is authorized to determine whether state boards or commissions "should be terminated, modified, consolidated with another agency or continued."

Thursday, at their first meeting, members agreed to examine the possible elimination of 35 state boards and commissions, including those on wildlife and ethics.

"We aren't saying these boards are good or bad," said chairwoman Sen. Sheila Leslie, D-Reno -- whereupon she immediately expressed concern that the Wildlife Commission may be dominated by members who believe hunting should remain legal.

Sen. Kieckhefer said Thursday his goal is to ensure taxpayers are "getting the biggest bang for their buck" by making sure boards are operating efficiently and effectively.

That's a good start, but it misses one important aspect of what this subcommittee should be doing.

A state board or commission can operate with admirable efficiency, and still subject consumers to artificially high prices by serving as a thinly veiled protection racket.

Elsewhere in the nation, state commissions have been found protecting flower arrangers from competition in Louisiana and enforcing a funeral-home monopoly on casket sales in Tennessee.

The Sunset Subcommittee should do more than merely make sure state commissions operate "efficiently." It should also examine whether they're needed, at all.