Sirois proposes constitutional amendment to create DOGE-like Florida Cabinet position

Florida House Majority Leader Tyler Sirois filed legislation Thursday to create a new Florida Cabinet-level position to root out and do away with government waste — in effect, a DOGE leader for the Sunshine State.

The legislation being filed by Sirois, R-Merritt Island, would call for a constitutional amendment that Florida residents would vote on in November 2026 to create a Commissioner of Government Efficiency as an elected Cabinet officer responsible for enhancing government efficiency by preventing waste, fraud and abuse.

Sirois defends the need for such a position — even though Republicans have been in the governor’s mansion and controlled both houses of the Florida Legislature since 1998.

Sirois said he believes having a watchdog role in government finances is a continual process — no matter which political party is in power in Tallahassee — and that the mechanism for doing so should be part of the Florida Constitution, thus making it more permanent.

He also envisions the new government efficiency Cabinet department using artificial intelligence and other technology into its work.

Sirois’ proposal — House Joint Resolution 1325 — follows on the announcement earlier this week by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis that he is creating a Florida State Department of Governmental Efficiency task force. DeSantis said the task force would “work to further eliminate waste within state government, save taxpayers money and ensure accountability in Florida.”

In response, Florida Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando, a leading critic of the governor, said: “Let’s be clear: The Republican Party has dominated our state government for nearly 30 years, and any inefficiencies are a direct result of their long-standing mismanagement. It’s laughable that, after decades in power, they now pretend to know how to fix what they themselves have broken. This is the same governor who has squandered millions defending unconstitutional laws, inflated his budget with unnecessary election police forces, and funneled taxpayer dollars into partisan electioneering. He has no credibility when it comes to improving government efficiency.”

Eskamani said that “emulating the disorder seen in federal mismanagement under figures like Elon Musk is not only misguided, but dangerous for our state’s future.”

DeSantis has defended his and the Republican-dominated Florida Legislature’s efforts to cut waste. He cited, for example, Florida’s relatively small state budget compared with New York’s budget; reductions in Florida’s total debt; and the previous elimination of unneeded boards and commissions.

Voters will have their say

Because Sirois’ proposal would change the Florida Constitution, it would have to be approved by three-fifths of the membership of each chamber of the Florida Legislature. The proposed amendment then would have to be approved by 60% of voters in a statewide referendum in 2026.

Because of the timeline for implementing constitutional amendments, the first proposed Commissioner of Government Efficiency would not take office until after the 2026 election, and the first commissioner would be appointed by the Florida Legislature, rather than elected by Florida voters.

Sirois’ proposed constitutional amendment also would eliminate the elected position of lieutenant governor, which is vacant following the appointment earlier this month of then-Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez as interim president of Florida International University.

On the federal level, President Donald Trump previously had created a federal Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE, led by senior adviser Elon Musk, a businessman who heads SpaceX, Tesla and the social media site X.

Although, Florida’s Commissioner of Government Efficiency would not have jurisdiction over county or municipal budgets, the person would have “the power to audit, investigate and report on fraud, waste and abuse” within the executive branch of state government, as well as within counties, municipalities and special districts.

The commissioner also would serve as a member of the Florida Cabinet, participating in asset management and administrative oversight functions.

The Cabinet currently includes the attorney general, chief financial officer and commissioner of agriculture.

If voters approve the constitutional amendment in 2026, under the timeline in the legislation, the first Commissioner of Government Efficiency would be appointed by the Florida Legislature no later than March 2, 2027 — the first day of its 2027 regular session. The first appointee would serve until the 2028 general election, at which point the office would be filled by election for the two remaining years of the term.

Starting in 2030, the commissioner would be elected on the same four-year cycle as all other Cabinet members, with a term limit of eight consecutive years.

Sirois — whose House district is in Central Brevard County — said the legislation is a product of himself and other leaders of the Florida Legislature, and that DeSantis was not involved in its crafting.

What happens to lieutenant governor?

Sirois said the office of lieutenant governor — along with the staff for that position — would be eliminated. That, Sirois said, would help free up state budget money for the creation of the Commissioner of Government Efficiency and that person’s staff. He said the cost for establishing the new Cabinet position has not been determined.

With the current vacancy in the lieutenant governor’s position, DeSantis has the power to make an appointment to that office. But he had said he wasn’t planning to do so until after the end of the 2025 regular session of the Florida Legislature that begins Monday and runs for two months.

The Florida Constitution is vague on the role of the lieutenant govermor, saying that person performs duties that “shall be assigned by the governor,” as well as other duties that “may be prescribed by law.” The lieutenant governor also becomes governor is there is a vacancy, impeachment, or physical or mental incapacity involving the governor.

Sirois’ legislation would modifies that, to enable the Florida Legislature to establish a new succession procedure for the governor’s position.

The legislation also would eliminate the existing Government Efficiency Task Force. Approved by voters in 2006 by an amendment to the Florida Constitution and first established in 2007, the Government Efficiency Task Force is required to meet every four years to develop recommendations to improve governmental operations and reduce costs.

If approved by the Florida Legislature and voters, this would be the first change in the composition of the Florida Cabinet since voters approved a constitutional amendment in 1998, reducing the elected Cabinet from six to three members. The amendment merged the Cabinet offices of treasurer and comptroller into one chief financial officer; and made the elected Cabinet positions of secretary of state and education commissioner appointed positions.

The legislation would have a provision to eliminate the Cabinet office of the Commissioner of Government Efficiency if residents don’t like it. A proposed constitutional amendment would appear on the ballot in 2044, asking voters if the office should be repealed. If the voters approve the repeal, that would take effect at the end of 2046.

What DeSantis wants his task force to do

DeSantis said the Florida State DOGE Task Force he established Monday by executive order will serve a one-year term. It will have multiple tasks in its efforts to eliminate waste, and will use artificial intelligence and other technologies to do so. He said its tasks will include:

• Abolishing an additional 70 boards and commissions this year.
• Conducting a deep dive into all facets of college and university operations and spending and make recommendations to the Board of Governors and Florida Board of Education to eliminate any wasteful spending.
• Using artificial intelligence to supplement ongoing efforts to review operations at state agencies and identify more ways to cut unnecessary spending and eliminate bureaucracy.
• Looking into local government spending by using publicly available county and municipal spending records to expose bloat within local governance.
• Returning unused or surplus federal dollars allocated to the state.

Dave Berman is business editor at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Berman at dberman@floridatoday.com, on X at @bydaveberman and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dave.berman.54