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Address By
. Farris Bryant Chairman
Advisory Commie-ion on Intergovernmental Relations
before the
NSFSIRE Conference
on
Science, Technology, and State Government
Louisville, Kentucky
September 19, 1968
Mr. Gifford, Mr. Metry. Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm
delighted to be here, almost as much as I am puzzled to be
here. It is as though years had rolled back and Bob Gifford
had come around again with something you couldn't taste. touch.
feel or smell, but something that has been greatly productive
for Florida. He brought an understanding of the potential in
. Florida of nuclear energy and the place that state government
had in promoting its use and undertaking its wide regulation.
Yet there is another. more subtle challenge facing us
which has contributed to each of the othere, and which has in
it the seeds of solution or of destruction. It in the challenge
of the continuing revolution in science and technology and its
massive. unmeasured and unpredictable impact on our nation and
our people.
We are accustomed to thinking of the effect upon our
industrial society of the explosion of science and technology.
But little recognition has been accorded to the deep and profound
. effect which this miracle of knowledge has had upon our federal
system.
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computers have been used primarily to perform the same
operations that had previously been done with punehcard
and tabulating machines and these consisted chiefly of
large-volume, routine paperwork.
s e e e s a e
The question at this point is: Where do we go from
here? Of all the problems facing State and local govern-
ments, and indeed the federal system today, probably none
raises greater demands for cooperative intergovernmental
relatims than the urgent need to bring the results of
scientific and technological advance more directly to bear
upon the problems of domestic government. And most domestic
government in the United States is still provided through
the medium of our States and localities.
The termendous financial investments frequently
involved in the use of complex and sophisticated equipment
necessitates increased attention to science and technology.
and the pressing need for highly trained personnel to apply
the new knowledge and techniques mandates this.
Rather than review with you some of the administrative
reorganization and new management techniques that will be
necessary, let me suggest some cooperative efforts among
our Federal, State. and local governments.
Let me stress at the outset that there is a need for
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. deeper understanding of the potential of intergovernmental
cooperation. While the federal system may require funda-
mental structural changes and shifts in authority, they
are properly approached with great caution and emerge only
gradually. Intergovernmental arrangements then can serve
to provide long-range solutions, asking more basic shifts
unnecessary. But such devices call for a strong commit-
ment to make them succeed and for compromise and accommo-
dation among c00perating units for their success.
Only recently we have seen a striking example of
. the difficulties faced in devising needed intergovernmental
accommodations. We are told that technologically it is now
possible to equip telephones in a metropolitan area so
that anyone wishing to report an emergency or any type
can go to any pay telephone: dial 911: and without
having that all too frequently elusive dime -- be connected
with a central operator who can transmit the information to
the proper emergency unit. But it has not yet been possible
to develop the intergovernmental arrangements necessary
for channeling such a call and for eliciting the necessary
response.
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Let us then explore some of the possible approaches
for marshalling the scientific resources of government
through intergovernmental arrangements.
(1) Today the interstate compact, authorized by
the Constitution and originally used primarily for the
settling of boundary disputes, has emerged as an important
method for allowing states to assume mutual obligations
and undertake jointly enterprises that they could not
accomplish as well or at all individually. The Southern
Interstate Nuclear Board, of course, is an outstanding
example of an agency and a program established by compact.
The three regional higher education boards and the Education
Commission of the states provide other examples of compact
agencies which can fulfill a significant role in realizing
the objectives which we seek. They provide a cooperative
mechanism through which states can jointly direct their
attention to the role of the university in basic and applied
reserach and in development.
fully as important. the participating states can jointly
turn their attention to the need for additional trained people
for positions in both the public and the private sectors. other
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interstate agencies can be given broadened authority to better
realize the full benefits of scientific and technological advances
in the areas of their jurisdiction. The various marine fisheries
conissions, for example, could be undated a broader role in earine
resources research. The interstate pollution control agencies
could serve as a mechanism for coordinating research and development
in the pollution control area and for undertaking projects when this
is required. At the sane time, new interstate instrumentalities may
prove to be desirable in several research and program areas.
(2) Turning to a variation on this than, the interstate
compact has recently been expanded to include formal participation
by the Federal Government. The Delaware River Basin Comission is a
joint lederal-interstate agency allowing cooperation along the States
and between the States and the Federal Government. This type of
approach may hold particular promise where the demands for financing
and personnel are pressing.
(3) Another method for establishing Federal-interstate
cooperative agencies is that provided in the Appalachian Regional
Comission and Economic Development Comission legislation. Joint
agencies are created by parallel legislative action in Congress and
the States. The choice between the canpact and the statutory
authorisation approach depends on a number of factors, the consideration
of which goes beyond our purpose here today. not both have the sane
objective of creating a formal Federal-interstate mechanism for
accomplishing nutnal goals .
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(4) For the full potential of cooperative efforts to be
realized, States must enable their local governments similarly to
Cooperate across jurisdictional lines. Either general legislation
authorizing interlocal agreements among jurisdictions can be adopted
or specific authorization for particular types of agencies can be
provided. Under the first approach, in its broadest form, all local
governments are authorized to undertake jointly any activities that
they can perform individually. This approach is highly desirable
because it is impossible to predict the areas of responsibility or
the units of government for which cooperation would be desirable and
feasible. Its potential in allowing cooperative efforts to capitalise
fully on new scientific and technological advances is obvious.
Existing interlocal agreements have established areawida police radio
networks, computer installations, criminal detection and investigation
laboratories, and air pollution monitoring systems.
(5) State legislation can also authorize the creation of
areavide agencies--representative either of local governments or of
the residents of the area. The planning and development districts
which have been created in a number of States are one of the most
con-nu examples of this. Such districts are ideally suited to bring
the results of new technology to bear on sreavide development problems.
(6) The provision of technical assistance is an intergovern-
mental technique that holds particuler promise when skilled personnel
are at a premiun. A few Federal agencies under existing legislation
. have authority to offer such technical assistance to States and local
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governments. Such authority would be broadened to apply generally
to all Federal agencies if the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act of
1968, now pending before Congress, is approved. Under its provisions,
Federal agencies would be authorized to provide technical assistance
on a reimbursable basis.
In a similar fashion. States can expand their programs of
assistance to local governments to assure that the skilled resource
of trained personnel has a maximum impact and benefit.
(7) The exchange of personnel among agencies and among govern-
ments offers an opportunity for providing both technical assistance
and training Opportunities. To realize the full potential of this
approach to intergovernmental cooperation, new federal legislation is
needed and new or modified legislation is needed in several States.
The proposed Intergovernmental Personnel Act would authorize such
exchanges by the Federal Government and model legislation is available
to assist States in authorizing similar exchanges.
I have described only a few of the many approaches to inter-
governmental cooperation which are available to strengthen States
and local governments in their efforts to realize the full benefits
of scientific and technological developments. The potential for
such c00peration is great--if we are willing to capitalise fully on
existing authorization and experiment with new approaches.
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To sun up, the on-going revolution in science and technology
has placed severe strains on our federal systenr-and especially on
the States. Yet, this same revolution presents more than just a
challenge, it gives us a new range of opportunities.
He have seen that the States have made promising and
encouraging progress in adapting their programs end institutions to
realize the benefits of these scientific changes. We have also seen
that they have not yet been able to take full advantage of the
opportunities available.
Stressing the need for cooperative enterprises to move more
rapidly toward this goal, we have considered some of the directions
that might be taken. I have advanced no hard end fast prescriptions,
because efforts in this area are clearly in their infancy and a
variety of possibilities must be explored. This task, of course, is
one of the basic purposes of this Conference and others which are
planned.
The size and complexity of the public agenda nearly defy
comprehension. Much of this sgenda directly relates to the overriding
crises we face on the urban. rural, and racial fronts. Yet science
and technology are also part of this agenda of unfinished public
business. And thrOugh your efforts, and those of others concerned in
hddging the gaps between governments and governments, scientist and
public administrator, technician and political leader, layman and
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seventumodern science my use the tough tuk the: tecel thin
generation of American statesmen: the teak of preserving and
extending our system of ordered liberty, no that subsequent genera-
tions may enjoy the blessings of n "more perfect Union."
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1. It has forced the creation of a Department
of Transportation, to interlock roads and
guide airlines: through myriad governmental
boundaries.
2. It has caused to bloom the interstate coe-
pact, which sodern transportation and
communication have made both necessary
and efficient.
3. It has caused employment. education, health
and recreation to become state and national
concerns.
4. It has created the necessity for regional
attacks upon problems of air and water
pollution.
5. It has shifted the population or the nation
from farm to city. from east to west and south,
and from the central cities to the suburbs.
Such major economic and population shifts as these
are of special significance in a federal system consisting of
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several geographically circumscribed governments concerned
with the health, welfare. and opportunity of their citizens
as with the continued strength and vitality of the whole
Nation. Moreover, these shifts and the rapid advances
in science and technology which have triggered then con-
front State governments today with a dual challenge.
First. the states have assumed the responsibility for
assisting and encouraging the kind of economic and indus-
trial growth that will assure the well-being of their
citizens: and. secondly, state and local governments are
faced with the tough assignment of incorporating new
. equipment, processes. and techniques in their own operations.
In a recently completed study at urbanization patterns
in the United States. the Advisory Connie-ion on Intergovernnental
Relations focused attention on the increasing concentration
of our population in a limited number of metropolitan areas
while vast reaches of our country are bypassed and under-
developed. It found that the problems of 'the people left
behind' in many rural and small urban areas with an inadequate
economic base are similar in many respects to those of the
more visible urban poor crowded in the big city slums and
ghettoes. The Counission endorsed a policy geared to achieving
. a more balanced pattern of growth -- obviously not an even
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. distribution of population and economic activity across
the face or the land. but rather the assurance of viable
alternatives to continued concentration in a few areas
and the encouragement of patterns of urbanization that
would allow a wide diversity in location choices. The
impact of scientific and technological achievements
clearly has been the most significant factor condition-
ing the existing pattern of economic and urban growth
and it will he a major component of any Federal-State
endeavor to modify this pattern.
Economic development and population movements are
. but two byproducts of the science impact on our federal
system. The organization. functions, and processes of
government -- including State government -- have also
been affected. Many examples cone to nind:
-- The effectiveness and validity of many law
enforcement procedures depend on the use of the
latest scientific and technological equipment -
as in criminal investigation laboratories and
computer analysis of automatically recorded
crime report information to assist in the dis-
patching of police.
. Radar, airplane, helicopter. and electronic
equipment are vital in traffic regulation and
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enforcement procedures.
-- Radioactive tracer elements are beginning
to be used in food and drug testing to detect
imperfections or foreign matter.
-- Data-processing, electronic accounting
and record keeping, instant communication make
possible a vastly improved intergovernmental
relation.
At the decision making level, most States are attempt-
ing to apply modern techniques developed in private industry.
A systems approach to decision making -- the so-called
planning, programming, and budgeting system -- is being
initiated in a number of States.
A few States are beginning to probe the failure of
State and local governments to develop performance standards
for building construction materials and processes which will
protect the public safety while still allowing the intro-
duction of construction innovations and new materials.
Direct State involvement in this scientific revolution
has taken a number of forms and has been very spotty across
the country. except for the State universities. Over two-thirds
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of State university expenditures for R and D go for basic
research. with one-fourth for applied research and less
than 5 percent for development. There is no acre costly
failure than that of state governments to fully utilize the
scientific resources available to them in their own universi-
ties for the capitalisation of this great revolution.
The establishment of general science advisory units
represents one recent response to the pressures for an
increased State role. Formally constituted science advisory
agencies have been established in almost half of the States
and these have taken a variety of torus. In Connecticut,
Louisiana, New York, and North Carolina. grant disbursing
public foundations or commissions have been created to
encourage the undertaking of applied research and develop-
ment directly related to State resources and needs. Advisory
committes to the Governor have been established in Hawaii.
Kentucky. Massachusetts and Pennsylvania and units linked
to State departments of commerce are active in Georgia,
Maryland. New York and Oklahoma.
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A recent report on their experience suggests certain
generalizations regarding State efforts in this area:
First, although some of the State science and
technology advisory agencies have carried on
significant and continuing programs, their
existence appears somewhat precarious and their
funding is generally limited. All except one
of the agencies surveyed is less than five years
old.
Second, the focus of most of these units has
been primarily on physical facilities and
resources to foster the economic growth of
their respective States.
Third, a few of these agencies have the task
of coordinating programs and activities with
major implications for science and technology.
finally, they have been hampered by lack of a
clear assignment. and lack of adequate support from
either the political leadership or the scientific
and technological community. In other words,
an
they are not yet/acknowledged part of the political
fabric of the States.
Other state efforts to focus resources and attention
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on meeting scientific research and development needs involve
State established or supported research couplexes including
those in North Carolina. Kentucky, and Mississippi. The
North Carolina Research Triangle Institute is an important
reserach facility which operates in conjunction with Duke
University, the University of North Carolina. and North
carolina State College and has become a significant factor
in the State's industrial development. The Hississippi
Research and Development Center provides both an organiza-
tional form and a physical facility through which the State's
research needs can be analyzed. coordinated. and augmented.
The SpindletOp Research Center has been established as a
private nonprofit institute performing contract research
for industry and government in Kentucky.
Y' At least a dozen States have taken a more or less
direct part in planning and organizing "research parks" designed
for laboratories and other research facilities of private
industry, State and Federal Government agencies. and educa-
tional institutions. Generally, they are located near
existing major research facilities, frequently those of
universities or of the Federal Government. and are oriented
almost exclusively to the needs of business. )(
In addition to the specialized reserach and deveLOpment
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. activities of state governments, a number of line depart-
ments have their own R and D activities. A recent study
by the National Science Foundation indicates that such
line efforts are concentrated primarily in agriculture
and natural resources. highway, and health and hospital
agencies. Their limited scope is clearly indicated
by the fact that expenditures for such purposes have been
running at only two-tenths of one percent of total State
expenditures with 40 percent of these limited R and D
funds being provided by the Federal Government.
Recent infornation regarding State efforts to apply the
. results of scientific and technological development within
state government is difficult to obtain. A report issued
three years ago provides some picture of State use of
computers however. It indicated that highway, central
financial management. motor vehicle and driver licensing.
liquor control, welfare and education agencies most commonly
had computer installations. In only one of the reporting
States was there an installation administered by the judicial
branch and none by the legislative branch. Considerable
cooperative use of computer installations was indicated and certain
smaller states have recently established centralized data
. processing centers to assure the most efficient use of
expensive equipment and in a few instances this has led to an
independent data processing department. Despite these advances
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