Florida lawmakers push their own government efficiency bills over DeSantis' proposed 'DOGE'

Jeffrey Schweers, Orlando Sentinel on Mar 19, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Republicans from Gov. Ron DeSantis on down quickly jumped onto the DOGE bandwagon after President Donald Trump was sworn into office, echoing his call to root out alleged waste and fraud in bloated government bureaucracies.

DeSantis issued an executive order creating a DOGE-like task force within the governor’s office with the goal of cutting hundreds of jobs and auditing state agencies, universities and local governments, an action widely viewed as a jab at the past 30 years of Republican leadership.

But rather than taking a chainsaw to slashing budgets and laying off workers as Elon Musk has done, the Florida Legislature is taking a more measured approach, building on the state’s already existing budgeting and planning structure.

“Our state has been well served by the performance metrics, planning requirements, and accountability standards Governor (Jeb) Bush and Legislative leaders put in place nearly 30 years ago,” Senate President Ben Albritton said during his opening remarks of the 2025 session.

The result is a trio of bills aimed at improving the state’s information technology infrastructure, long-range planning and budgeting and streamlining administrative procedures, all an effort to making state government run more efficiently and transparently.

“Well, it’s not DOGE,” said state Sen. Lori Berman, a Boynton Beach Democrat who sits on the Senate Appropriations Committee that is introducing two of those bills Thursday. “I do think we need to look and make sure we need to operate efficiently, but we don’t need to take the same kind of ax to it.”

One bill, SB 7026, would create the Agency for State Systems and Enterprise Technology under the direction of the Cabinet, with the state chief information officer serving as its director. Its responsibilities would include making its system more secure to protect personal data of Floridians and updating an antiquated and fragmented IT infrastructure.

“Florida has tried many different ways to manage Information Technology. We have implemented several different structures, but we continue to face challenges,” said state Sen. Gayle Harrell, a Stuart Republican.

Many state agencies run their own systems — and some even run separate systems within their own agency.

Such a decentralized system makes enterprise-wide projects difficult if not impossible. Earlier this month, lawmakers received an audit of the Department of Management Services that uncovered missing data on thousands of state-owned vehicles.

Last year, tech and staffing issues stripped thousands of their Medicaid benefits. And during the COVID-19 pandemic, computer glitches blocked millions of people from getting unemployment benefits and were expected to cost $244 million to fix over five years.

In addition, a failed attempt to overhaul the state’s financial system over eight years cost the state $89 million. The project was abandoned five years ago.

The other bill, SB 7024, would focus more on the bigger picture of long-range budgeting and planning — using a panel that has been in place for a quarter-century, and on which several senators have served.

A government efficiency task force created by a voter-approved constitutional amendment has also existed since 2007. That group conducts a five-year review of state agencies budgets and procedures and make recommendations on improving them.

“By modernizing this system of accountability, our agencies will be better able to respond to changing situations quickly and efficiently, spending less time on paperwork and more time on their core missions,” said state Sen. Jason Brodeur, a Lake Mary Republican.

Brodeur said he expected full cooperation from both sides for the measures. “Who can object to open government and transparency?”

A third measure, by Vero Beach Republican state Sen. Erin Grall, SB 108, cleared its second committee hearing this week by unanimous vote and without discussion or debate. The bill, if it becomes law, would “enhance transparency for the public” by making material and resources more accessible online, she said.

Its main feature is creating a 90-day rule for agencies to implement any new laws after they go into effect.

“Sometimes it can seem like the delay of implementation is painfully slow,” Grall said. “Their intention is to bring transparency to this process, make it easier for the public to interact with.”

The bill requires annual reviews of 20% of an agency’s rules, so that every five years they each will have reviewed all their rules and made any changes recommended.

State Rep. Toby Overdorf, a Palm City Republican, has introduced a similar bill in the House.

The bill marks the first major review of the state’s rulemaking process in seven years.

“Bureaucratic red tape slows down businesses, burdens taxpayers, and creates unnecessary obstacles for Floridians,” Overdorf said. “Florida should lead the way in making government work smarter, not bigger.”

_____