Florida TaxWatch is calling on lawmakers to permanently embed the state’s Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE) into law, warning that ongoing cost-cutting efforts launched under Gov. Ron DeSantis could fade once his administration ends.
In a report released on Thursday, the nonpartisan watchdog backed DeSantis’ February executive order establishing DOGE Teams inside every state agency but said the Legislature should adopt the proposed Florida Government Efficiency Act to ensure continuity.
“Convening once every four years, the constitutionally mandated ‘Government Efficiency Task Force’ meets for the purpose of developing recommendations to improve governmental operations and reduce costs,” said Florida TaxWatch Executive Vice President and General Counsel Jeff Kottkamp. “Florida TaxWatch firmly believes that, if government efficiency is important enough to the taxpayers to be enshrined in our state constitution, then it should be important enough to the legislature to be enshrined in Florida Statutes.”
The propsed measure would amend Florida’s budget statutes to require governors to submit efficiency and cost-saving recommendations every year as part of their budget proposals. Those recommendations would be informed by audits and reports from the Auditor General, the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability, agency inspectors general and other oversight bodies.
Each agency would also be required to file quarterly reports on the progress of implementing savings measures, which would be reviewed by the Legislature’s appropriations committees and the Legislative Budget Commission.
The report points to the state’s history of efficiency initiatives, particularly the Government Efficiency Task Force created by constitutional amendment in 2006. Convened every four years, the task force has issued 172 recommendations since 2011, with potential savings of more than $15 billion.
DeSantis’ executive order gave new momentum to efficiency efforts, directing state agencies to cut wasteful spending and identify federal grants that conflict with state policy priorities. It also tasked the governor’s office with reviewing higher education operations for redundancies and launched a round of audits of municipal spending that began in July. State auditors have since conducted on-site inspections in several communities, part of what DeSantis described as an attempt to restore fiscal discipline to local governments. The order, however, is set to expire in March 2026 unless renewed.
