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. 

Kolodin is starting with smaller, more obscure boards and commissions like the Citrus Research Council and the Acupuncture Board of Examiners, but said he’d eliminate every state agency, board and commission in existence if he had his way. He also introduced a bill to terminate the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission, though other lawmakers want to continue the commission for eight more years. 

Rep. Lupe Diaz, R-Benson, is also taking a stab at state agencies, specifically the Arizona Department of Water Resources. He introduced two bills, one that would cut ADWR’s budget in half and another that would move up the agency’s regularly scheduled audit to next year, saying he wants to address “the lack of transparency and regulatory overreach” at the department. 

“Unfortunately, ADWR, under the direction and control of Governor Hobbs, has been sidetracked by extrastatutory activities that lack legislative authorization,” Diaz said in a statement released on Jan. 28. “The agency has been diverting critical time and resources away from its core functions to frivolous policymaking councils and focus groups, driving up housing costs for thousands of Arizonans.”

Diaz highlighted the governor’s Water Policy Council, the designation of the new Willcox Active Management Area, the Alternative Path to Designation of Assured Water Supply rules and proposed ag-to-urban rules as examples of “extrastatutory” activities. A spokesperson for ADWR declined to comment on Diaz’s bills, as did a spokesperson for Gov. Katie Hobbs. 

Another idea from Kolodin involves bringing back Proposition 315, a legislative referral rejected by voters in November that would have required state agencies to receive legislative approval for regulatory rulemakings that would cost the state $500,000 or more over five years. Kolodin’s version would allow the Legislature to use concurrent resolutions to repeal agency rules costing more than $1 million and would allow citizens and businesses to request a review of a rule’s impact on taxpayers.

And Kolodin’s government-shrinking ideas don’t just apply to the executive branch — some target state lawmakers like himself. He sponsored a legislative referral that would prohibit lawmakers from introducing more than 10 bills per session and would stipulate that bills introduced during the second session of a Legislature could only repeal statutes, not amend or create new ones. Kolodin has introduced 99 bills so far this session.  

Kolodin’s reasoning for the resolution can be found in the text, which says “The People of this State find that there are already enough laws.” If the resolution makes it out of the Legislature, voters would have a chance to let lawmakers know whether they agree with that sentiment at the next election. 

Another Republican, Sen. J.D. Mesnard, introduced a legislative referral that would amend Proposition 108, a measure approved by voters in 1992 that requires a two-thirds majority approval in the Legislature for state tax and fee increases. Prop. 108 excluded most state agency fees from the two-thirds rule, allowing them to increase fees for certain programs through the traditional regulatory review process. 

Mesnard said in a press release on Jan. 28 that the exception has led to the approval of far more increases than originally intended and that the Legislature has often used the exception as a loophole to avoid the two-thirds rule.

“The people have entrusted their elected officials with the power to make policies, including assessing any taxes or fees, not delegate that responsibility to unelected government officials,” Mesnard said in a prepared statement. “When Arizona voters approved Prop. 108, their intentions were clear; they wanted to set a higher threshold when imposing a greater financial burden on the people, not make it easier to do so.”

Will Humble, a former director of the the Department of Health Services, said the resolutions from Mesnard and Kolodin would result in a “slow starvation” for agencies. Mesnard’s resolution would impact agencies like the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, the Department of Environmental Quality and the Department of Water Resources that rely on fees to regulate health care industries and the environment, according to Humble.

He said he agrees that state government could be more efficient, but repealing regulatory boards and cutting resources for agencies isn’t the way to accomplish that.

“It’s not rocket science,” Humble said. “It’s having talented people making the decisions inside these agencies. That’s how you make government more effective.” 

He said lawmakers could also pour more money into the Auditor General’s Office to ensure agencies are being held accountable. The auditor general does periodic reviews of all agencies, boards and commissions, but due to a lack of funding recently allowed some agencies to do self-audits. 

“If you want efficiency, you want oversight and you want accountability, use the Auditor General’s Office to do that and then stop standing in the way of the governor getting talented people into these jobs,” Humble said, referring to the drawn out battle between Hobbs and the Senate over her director nominations. 

Republicans have also taken inspiration from other Trump administration policies when crafting state legislation. Sen. Jake Hoffman, R-Queen Creek, introduced a bill aimed at prohibiting state entities from using diversity, equity and inclusion programs, which echoes Trump’s executive order ending DEI programs in the federal government. 

Most, if not all, of the bills aimed at enacting DOGE in Arizona are likely headed for Hobbs’ veto stamp, but a few would bypass her and head straight to voters in 2026. Kolodin said he is optimistic that Arizonans will agree with Republicans that the state government is out of control, but Humble isn’t so sure. 

“I’ve been around long enough to know that the pendulum does swing, especially when there’s a lot of overreach,” Humble said. “The more people are personally affected by these decisions, the more unpopular they are going to become. And I think two years from now, it’s going to be a different policy world.”