Idaho Doesn’t Need Another Task Force It Needs a Backbone!!

Who’s Watching the Watchdogs?

Are we really serious about DOGE in Idaho? Because if actions speak louder than words, something doesn’t add up. A task force has now been created even though the bill to approve it didn’t even get a hearing in the Senate.

So what’s going on?
Is leadership ignoring the full Legislature? And how were the committee members picked?

Here’s what I’ll say: looking at their voting records and spending scores, only one of the legislators chosen for this task force has earned her place, at least in my view. If we’re going to talk about making government more efficient, it should be led by people who already walk that talk.

(Out of the above 8 appointed Task Force Members, three are already on JFAC. Rep Manwaring, Rep Tanner and Senator Bjerke.)

And here’s another question taxpayers deserve an answer to, what is this task force costing them? Every committee, every meeting, every travel day comes with a price tag. If we’re spending money in the name of government efficiency, we better be able to show the math.

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What are the expectations of HB364? (Read Bill)

The DOGE legislation House Bill 364 (2025) establishes the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Legislative Task Force. Its stated goals are to:

1. Ensure efficient and responsible governance to best serve the citizens of Idaho. (This is the responsibility of JFAC (Joint Finance Appropriation Committee)

2. Review agency functions, regulatory processes, and budget authority to promote: (Again JFAC’s responsibility.)

      •   Fiscal responsibility

      •   Prevention of waste

      •   Enhanced accountability

Specifically, the DOGE task force is authorized to: (JFAC does this.)

   •   Study and review government efficiency across Idaho state government.

   •   Advise the legislature on findings and make recommendations.

The task force may work through three specialized subgroups:

1. Regulatory Accountability Subgroup (We call these Workgroups in JFAC)

      •   Strengthen oversight of state agency rule making.

      •   Recommend reductions in regulation.

      •   Work toward shifting nearly all regulations into statute by 2033.

2. Budget Accountability Subgroup (Again JFAC calls these Workgroups)

      •   Conduct base budget reviews.

      •   Identify and eliminate wasteful or redundant services and expenditures.

      •   Recommend improvements to budget processes.

3. Government Operations and Oversight Subgroup

      •   Assess the structure of state government.

      •   Recommend agency consolidations or streamlining efforts to improve efficiency.

The DOGE task force is set to operate through November 30, 2029, unless extended or modified by future legislation.

(I want to draw your attention to this key phrase: “unless extended or modified by future legislation.” Why would it require legislation to modify or extend the task force when it didn’t require legislation to create it in the first place?)

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If House Bill 364 had come to the Senate, I would have voted no. Here’s why:

• We’re creating a task force to do the job JFAC is already responsible for.
  JFAC is made up of 10 senators and 10 representatives, and it’s their job to oversee spending and hold agencies accountable.

• Task forces are slowly turning the Legislature into a year-round operation.
  That’s not what Idahoans signed up for. We are supposed to be part-time citizen legislators not full-time bureaucrats.

• If these task forces were truly about stopping government waste, fraud, or overreach then why has Idaho’s government grown by nearly 60% in just the past six years? That kind of growth tells me the oversight isn’t working.

• Most Idahoans don’t even know these task forces exist.
  Like off-year elections, they happen quietly, outside of the regular session, with little to no public input or transparency.

• How many task forces are there, and how much are they costing taxpayers?
  That’s a question every legislator should be asking and every taxpayer deserves to know.

• You know what? This would be a perfect issue for DOGE to investigate.
  After all, if we’re going to preach government efficiency, we should start by practicing it.

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Having sat on JFAC, we have every tool at our fingertips to DOGE into any agency. It’s not a lack of information it’s a lack of will to vote no on bloated budgets.

I voted for all maintenance budgets except for Health and Welfare. And even then, I’m not a big fan of maintenance budgets in general, because the truth is: we don’t really know what that money is being spent on or how. But supposedly, that’s the funding that keeps Idaho running.

Frankly, I don’t know if it’s keeping us going or running us into the ground.

In JFAC I voted no on almost every enhancement budget, and most of the time, the vote was 19 ayes to my one lone nay. It got to the point that some were visibly frustrated with me because voting no meant I couldn’t carry the budget bills on the floor, which created more work for other members.

I was asked, “Why are you voting no? We thought you’d only oppose budgets that go against your morals. What do you want to see happen?”

Here’s what I told them:

Spending other people’s money on programs that grow government, expand dependency on the broke federal government, and have no constitutional justification that is a moral issue for me.

What would I like to see happen?

In Glenn’s perfect world, we’d pass only the maintenance budgets and put every enhancement on hold. Then we’d take the time to dig deep into the maintenance side, cut the waste, expose the fraud, and clean up what’s broken.

Only then would we revisit enhancements and only if they truly serve Idaho’s core responsibilities.

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The Gang of 8 set out to do our best during the 2025 legislative session especially when it came to appropriations and yes, we faced some pushback. But if you don’t have a target, you’ll never hit it.

We knew what our constituents expected of us. Making a pledge helped us stay accountable to you. And we’re committed to continuing that accountability.

Here are a few expectations we have for this new task force. If they can’t deliver, maybe we can if we’re given the transparency and access to the information needed to make sound decisions.

• Investigate how many full time employment vacancies exist in each state agency, how long those positions have been unfilled, and what’s being done with the taxpayer dollars allocated for those vacant roles.

• Review the LAUNCH program: how many have applied, how the funds are being spent, how many students complete the program, and how many secure jobs here in Idaho.

• Determine how many task forces have been created in the last five years, how much taxpayer money was spent on each, and what measurable outcomes if any they produced.

• Conduct a full review of all executive and legislative branch spending. Identify how much is buried in continuous spending with little to no legislative oversight and who decides what goes into continuous spending and at what amount.

• Put continuous spending back into the budget book.

• Audit ALL rainy day funds how much is in them, what those funds are intended for, and how long can they hold onto that money before it should be returned to the taxpayers.

• Identify ALL unused earmarked funds sitting idle across state agencies such as cash set aside for large aquifer projects within the Idaho Department of Water Resources or unspent funds for road and bridge improvements under the Idaho Transportation Department.

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What are your expectations for this new task force?

Do you believe it will produce different results than the JFAC committee?

I’d love to hear your thoughts or better yet, consider signing up to testify this Friday and let them know exactly what you expect from this process. Your voice matters.

Here’s the link to sign up: HERE

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How will this Task Force be any different from JFAC? When they present their findings to JFAC next session, what will actually come of it? Will the committee take real action or will it be another 1-to-19 vote when it comes to cutting spending, reducing government growth, or holding agencies accountable for misusing your tax dollars?

At the end of the day, we can only hope this task force produces real outcomes not more reports that collect dust but real results that truly benefit the people of Idaho.

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My June pay raise contribution went to: Wolf Pup Learning Center in Castleford ID.

These ladies are doing a great service for their community. Check out their website HERE.

Picture from left to right: Jana Rodgers, Rachel Puschel, (me), Courtney Billington, Callie Wiggins.