Lawmaker: Arizona's 'DOGE' committee will focus on 'slimming down the government'

Arizona’s upcoming Legislature has a new regulatory oversight committee – which lawmakers are comparing to the federal Department of Government Efficiency, or “DOGE,” to be headed by Elon Musk.

The Republican-controlled Legislature established the committee in the House and Senate for the first time this year.

“What we’re trying to continue is highlight that we want to keep government in check and efficient,” House Speaker Steve Montenegro (R-Goodyear) said.

The lawmakers haven’t said yet what specifically the committee intends to do, but Rep. Alexander Kolodin, who will vice-chair the House committee, says that, in a nutshell, it’s about “getting rid of stuff” the government doesn’t need.

“I think it’s supposed to be like a DOGE committee that’s focused on government efficiency and government oversight, so slimming down the government, streamlining it and overseeing it,” Kolodin said on Wednesday. “I found out about this committee today.”

The Senate committee is called the Committee on Regulatory Affairs and the House committee is called Regulatory Oversight.

The House committee turned heads because it was announced after the rest of the chamber’s committees were - and because it will be led by Kolodin and Rep. Joseph Chaplik (R-Scottsdale).

In the House speaker race - which is an election the majority party conducts among itself - Chaplik ran against Montenegro with Kolodin’s support.

When the first committee leadership assignments were announced, neither Chaplik’s nor Kolodin’s names were on the list.

It was a contrast to the last session, when both Chaplik and Kolodin held multiple leadership roles.

During the last session, Kolodin vice-chaired the Municipal Oversight & Elections Committee and chaired the House Ad Hoc Committee on Oversight, Accountability and Big Tech.

Chaplik vice-chaired the Appropriations Committee and the House Ethics Committee.