Rep. Alexander Kolodin (Photo by Gage Skidmore)
By Arizona Capitol Times
After the November 2024 election, legislative Republicans pledged to follow in President Donald Trump’s footsteps and rein in state government.
They’re attempting to make good on that promise with their own committees modeled after Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, and several bills targeting state agencies, boards and commissions.
Trump’s DOGE was introduced shortly after he was elected to a second term in November and will focus on reducing federal government spending. Republican lawmakers in Arizona praised Trump for the idea and created two committees at the Legislature — House Regulatory Oversight Committee and Senate Regulatory Affairs and Government Efficiency Committee — aimed at doing the same for state government.
Rep. Alex Kolodin, R-Scottsdale, has taken the DOGE mentality to heart and introduced bills that would repeal several state boards and commissions, give lawmakers and the public the power to challenge agency rules and allow citizens to sue individual government officials for actions taken in their official capacity. Kolodin said he was inspired by the “groundswell of support” he saw for the idea of DOGE after it was introduced by Trump.
“We want to take an axe to the size of government and its interference in the lives of Arizonans,” Kolodin said.
One way he hopes to do that is by eliminating at least nine state boards and commissions that regulate different industries in the state. Those serving on state boards and commissions usually serve without pay, but many do have paid staff or executive directors who assist in day-to-day operations.
