Gov. Reynolds touts Iowa’s government restructuring estimated to save state $200M over next 4 years

Gov. Kim Reynolds held a press conference Tuesday at 2 p.m. to provide an update on the early implementation of the government restructuring plan.The government restructuring bill was signed into law in April. The law took effect this month and reduced Iowa's 37 state agencies down to 16."I am so proud to stand here this afternoon and announce that Iowa's newly aligned state government structure is officially in place and operational," the governor said at the beginning of the press conference. The governor said more than 2,600 state employees transitioned to a new department. She also said more than 500 unfilled positions were eliminated. More than 100 state employees directly helped with implementing this plan. It's estimated that the new structure will save the state $214 million dollars over four years.Directors of three different departments spoke during the press conference on how their respective teams were handling the changes. The governor said there are a few minor details they are still finetuning. "We're working on space and some of those things because we want the team together. It's really important that we develop that culture of collaboration, and you need the team together if you're going to create that kind of culture," Reynolds said. There are also new changes to state technologies, systems and services and some state programs have been merged into single departments.Reynolds also unveiled a new state logo that will be used by executive branch departments to show that everyone "is on the same team."Full press conference: Gov. Kim Reynolds provides update on the state's government restructuring plan