Policy task forces help politicians develop or publicize solutions for tackling governmental and societal problems. Task forces also offer organized group representatives an opportunity for direct articulation of interests with government representatives. This research looks at the establishment of statewide task forces through executive order. The term task force is used for any temporary or ad hoc committee created for investigation, research, awareness, or recommendations regarding a policy issue. These quasi-governmental organizations go by many names such as blue-ribbon commissions, advisory councils, and boards. States have no consistent or formal definition of a task force (or other advisory monikers); various terminology is used interchangeably.
Governors frequently create advisory committees through an executive order. Many directives include membership with interest group representation. Over a ten-year span, from 2000 to 2009, over a thousand policy task forces were created by Governors in the 36 states for which data are available. Task force establishment by executive order varies across states and over time. A content analysis of gubernatorial task forces enhances our knowledge of this potentially powerful and overlooked institution in the field of state politics. These advisory commissions are created to deal with many policy problems, particularly those involving issues of government operations, law and crime, and health care. Following the review of executive orders, seven motivations for establishing a policy-oriented task force are suggested. Further research on advisory councils and interest group participation is warranted.
Widespread use of policy task forces is a relatively new phenomenon in American political history. Prominence of advisory councils, and scholarly attention to them, arose in the mid-20th Century. Existing research about policy task forces concentrates on the federal level, particularly on presidential advisory commissions.1 Governors appear to follow the path laid out by presidential administrations. This report analyzes state use of gubernatorial policy task forces, their policy domains, and motivations.