Florida to cut more than 30 state agencies:

TALLAHASSEE - Ronald Reagan declared war on Big Government at the Cow Palace in San Francisco on Oct. 27, 1964.

Government programs, "once launched, never go out of existence," Reagan said at the Republican National Convention. "A government agency is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this Earth."

Ironically, the federal government grew larger when Reagan was president. His call to arms still resonates with conservatives, though, including President Bush and congressional lawmakers who are pushing to abolish federal agencies.

Meanwhile, the president's brother has signed legislation to terminate more than 30 Florida agencies by 2015.

Theoretically, that could mean no Agency for Health Care Administration to regulate medical facilities. No Department of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles to issue driver licenses. No Department of Corrections to house inmates.

In Florida, the House and Senate will appoint a 12-member sunset commission. That worries Gibson about subjecting agencies to lawmakers' political agendas, particularly with Republicans in control.

Privatizing is one alternative to an agency and a trend in Florida since Jeb Bush became governor and began shrinking the government work force.