DOGE trend hits Texas, Jacksonville governments

Texas became the latest state to sign into law its own version of the Department of Government Efficiency last month, as questions swirl about cuts by the federal DOGE, their legality and their effectiveness.

Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, signed legislation in late April to create the Texas DOGE, known formally as the Texas Regulatory Efficiency Office. Its aim is to find “unnecessary regulations in state agencies and create best practices for state agencies to follow to reduce regulatory strains on Texans.” The bill passed during the state’s regular legislative session with bipartisan support in both chambers and was the first bill of that session  Abbott signed.

It means Texas joins the likes of Iowa, New Hampshire and Oklahoma in creating state-level DOGEs, which have all promised to streamline state government, as well as reduce spending and regulations.

“This law will slash regulations, put stricter standards on new regulations that could be costly to businesses, and put a check on the growth of the administrative state,” Abbott said in a statement. “This will make government more efficient and less costly, ensuring that Texas operates at the speed of business.”

The Texas DOGE builds on recommendations from the Governor’s Small Business Freedom Council, which Abbott established last year to review how the state government can be more efficient for business. The group’s final report, which it issued in March, recommended streamlining various processes and embracing technology, as it said that “outdated” state systems are a “major pain point for small businesses.”

“This new office delivers on a core recommendation from the Freedom Council’s report: eliminate duplicative regulations, modernize outdated processes, and reduce the burdens that hold back small business growth,” Texas Association of Business President and CEO Glenn Hamer, who is also a council co-chair, said in a statement. “The Texas DOGE effort is a model for the nation.”

While much of the DOGE focus has been on state government, it appears that at least one city has gotten in on the act too. Jacksonville, Florida, in March launched a Special Committee on Duval DOGE. Among its pledges, the committee said it would analyze recent city government growth and find cost savings, and “[c]onsider implementing a budget lapse while being mindful of potential service impacts.”

A graphic on the committee’s website says it has found almost $20 million in savings already, while the body also says it has looked at complete and dormant capital projects to see where money can be saved, investigated the utilization of city facilities and recommended adjustments to its travel policy, among other recommendations. A final report is due in June.

While it may be tempting to see government efficiency as simply finding ways to reduce costs and staff head count, experts said the reality is a lot more complex. A recent report from McKinsey & Company said state and local governments should focus on boosting their operating performance by simplifying and redesigning their processes, digitizing and automating what they can, streamlining their organizations to support efficiency, and building new skills across all levels.

It's a lot more complex than just laying people off and relying entirely on artificial intelligence, but it is about rethinking how the government, its processes and services work.

“I think that the main push for anybody that's interested in tackling this is to establish this bold aspiration, rather than say, ‘Let's just see what we can find in the couch cushions,’” said Trey Childress, a partner at McKinsey and a report co-author. “It's instead to say, ‘Look, we're going to set the ambition to find x million or x billion [in savings].’ When you set that ambition, it changes the way that the leaders at the table begin thinking about the problem.”

The push for government efficiency presents states with an ideal opportunity to reexamine their entire technology portfolio and explore whether it can better align its business processes, strategy and information through enterprise architecture. The National Association of State Chief Information Officers said the topic of enterprise architecture has become increasingly important to its members, and state leaders said there is an ideal opportunity to align tech and processes in a bid for greater efficiency.

During a panel discussion at NASCIO’s Mid-Year Meeting in Philadelphia late last month, Utah CIO Alan Fuller said efficiency “is a little bit of a scary word right now,” but tech leaders could use an enterprise architecture review as an opportunity for “removing redundancies and finding efficiencies.”

“If you have that roadmap, everybody understands the direction that you're moving, understands where those investments are currently being made, you can actually track the investment and show the efficiency of the total that you're implementing,” Michigan CIO Laura Clark said. “If you don't have a clear, comprehensive architectural approach, you're going to spend a lot of time even trying to create the evidence to vet out that you’re effective and efficient.”

Democratic-led states could maybe be convinced to start their own DOGEs if they can see it is not just an effort focused on firing and cost-saving, but can be about improving processes, embracing technology and making government more effective.

Carla Eckhorn, an urban strategy consultant who directed research on a recent report on states’ use of artificial intelligence by nonprofit Govern for America, said thinking of DOGE as a way to improve service delivery could make it more appealing.

“There's a way for blue states to embrace the cause of efficacy and embrace AI's role in enhancing human productivity while still maintaining a strong progressive message,” Eckhorn said in an interview at NASCIO’s Mid-Year Conference. “I'm curious to see whether you see leaders in liberal parts of the country focusing on these questions of government efficacy and the role of technology in their rollout of efficacy strategies.”