SACRAMENTO — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger pledged Tuesday to "make every use" of a meticulous proposal to overhaul California's bureaucracy, describing it as a tonic for state government and setting in motion what is expected to be an impassioned public debate about the state's direction.
In his first public comments about the report, Schwarzenegger did not single out anything he liked or disliked about the 2,504 pages of recommendations. But he predicted that "special interests" would attempt to foil the most sweeping plan to revamp California government since Ronald Reagan served in the Capitol.
"Of course there will be the special interests that will be screaming," he said. "They will be complaining. They will be squawking about the recommendations, calling them unfair and impractical or maybe even worse. But this is because their agenda is not the people's agenda.
"The people know that California needs many, many reforms: prison reform, energy reform, government reform, education reform," the Republican governor continued. "We are going to meet all those challenges and much more."
Schwarzenegger was handed a copy of the phone book-sized yellow volumes at a ceremony in a vast state property warehouse, against a backdrop of aging computer monitors and dusty surplus desks that are being offered for sale to the public. The governor promptly turned the report over to officials who will take it on the road for public comment.
Though the overhaul is meant to streamline government, it has already spawned one new commission: In June, Schwarzenegger created a panel of 21 state legislators, public officials, academics and political supporters who will hold five hearings around the state and summarize the responses in a second report to the governor.
The plan officially unveiled Tuesday is the work of the 275-member California Performance Review team set up by the governor early in the year. Members included state employees borrowed from various departments, outside consultants and top aides to the governor.
At Schwarzenegger's behest, the task force carried out a top-to-bottom review of state government largely in secret, working out of two floors in a leased office building a few blocks from the Capitol. The entire effort cost about $9 million -- most of that reflecting the salaries of the state workers.
