The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is all the rage.
Conservatives like me are thrilled with this effort to root out the waste and abuse in federal spending. Liberals and their non-profit (NGO) allies are enraged watching their lifeblood being cut off.
There’s a lot of buzz around Frankfort about a DOGE for state government.
It won’t come from the executive branch. Gov. Andy Beshear is suing the Trump administration to stop it before it even gets started. House Speaker David Osborne, R-Prospect, got it right when he said, “this governor hasn’t found a dollar that he doesn’t want to spend on something.”
Former Gov. Matt Bevin was ahead of his time pursuing efficient government. Rep. John Hodgson, R-Fisherville, reminded me last week the Bevin administration used a hiring freeze, workforce attrition, and budget reductions to eliminate thousands of positions from the state government payroll. They also reduced the number of boards and commissions from 570 to under 400. Hodgson, who served as a senior advisor to Bevin, told me there’s more work to be done.
Eight years ago, I was Bevin’s Deputy State Budget Director. (John Chilton was the Budget Director). Back then, the state pension systems were teetering and revenue growth wasn’t generating enough money to stem the bleeding. The Governor tasked us with scraping together every dime we could to shore them up.
The budget we introduced reduced agency spending by 6.25% and proposed defunding 70 programs. The program eliminations would’ve saved $85 million, or more specifically, reallocated those dollars to pensions and other critical priorities. It was tough medicine to swallow and took real political leadership.
Then, like now, the NGOs, state universities and education bureaucracy screamed bloody murder. And, when the moment called for bold action, the General Assembly blinked. They raised taxes and restored funding to nearly all of the programs. Bevin vetoed the tax increase but the legislature overrode his veto.
Things might be different now. House Appropriations & Revenue Chairman Jason Petrie, R-Elkton, is serious about fiscal discipline. The House “Liberty Caucus” is growing in membership and stature. They don’t crave praise from the state’s political and business elites. Limited government principles are what matter to them.
As a longtime defender of the money pit that is Kentucky Wired, I don’t expect Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, to suddenly change his stripes. Fiscal conservatives in that chamber should look to Sen. Chris McDaniel, R-Ryland Heights, and Sen. Amanda Mays-Bledsoe, R-Lexington, to provide the intellectual firepower to tackle wasteful spending. I believe both are up to the task.
What would a legislative branch-driven DOGE look like? Ideas are flying around the capital annex. Let me offer three.
Minnesota Republicans (yes, that’s a real thing) took control of the state House this year. One of their first actions was to establish a House Fraud & Agency Oversight Committee. It will work with the Office of the Legislative Auditor to hold agencies accountable for their performance – or lack thereof. It’s an intriguing model to consider bringing to Kentucky.
Zero-based budgeting has a long history with mixed results. For three years I pushed the budget office staff to help me understand what’s in agency “base” budgets but made little progress. Getting detailed information is the key to that strategy’s success.
A website for the taxpayers to report suspected waste, abuse and patronage. These could be the first ten entries: Paul Patton’s “New Economy” programs, the Center for Rural Development, Dataseam, the Transportation Cabinet’s asphalt bidding, the Kentucky Science & Technology Center, Teach for America, the money sent to Auburn University for veterinary slots, the Early Childhood Development Advisory Council and the Department of Education. Actress Jennifer Garner’s Save the Children also deserves a close look.
These are off the top of my head. Organizations dependent on siphoning taxpayer money while generating no legitimate return-on-investment should be on notice. I’ll have time to really think about this after the session.
Andrew McNeill is the President and Senior Policy Fellow at the Kentucky Forum for Rights, Economics & Education (KYFREE). He served as the Deputy State Budget and Policy Director in Gov. Matt Bevin’s administration. His email address is amcneill@kyfree.org.