Summary: Mike Olcott, the House Rep for Texas House District 60, which includes Willow Park, is a member of the newly created Texas House "Delivery of Government Efficiency Committee" or DOGE; he asks Citizens to report government waste. The new TX House DOGE has pledged "to closely scrutinize the inner-workings of state government, which is expected to consume more than $320 billion over the next two years."
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Texas House has a DOGE, and Willow Park's Mike Olcott is a player.
Mike Olcott, the House Representative for Texas House District 60, which includes Willow Park, is a member of the newly created Texas House "Delivery of Government Efficiency Committee" or DOGE. [1, 2]
"I am super excited to be a member of the Texas DOGE committee! Cutting spending and making government more efficient is a passion of mine and the hope is to parlay those achievements into providing more property tax relief to the hardworking citizens of Texas! If any of y’all are aware of government waste, feel free to reach out to my office at (512) 463-0656. I am already coordinating with other members of the committee to develop strategies of how best to detect government fraud, waste and abuse," Olcott reported in his 03 March Newsletter. [1] Other committee members agree. [1]
Created by Republican House Speaker Dustin Burrows, the "13-member [TX House] committee, of eight Republicans and five Democrats, held "its first hearing Wednesday, with testimony from more than a dozen state agencies in its opening review of what could be a wholesale evaluation of operations." [2]
In addition, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who leads the TX Senate, included a TX Senate DOGE in his list of top 25 legislative priorities. Although no Senate bill has been filed to date, Patrick's office has an informal title for Senate Bill 14: “Texas DOGE – Improving Government Efficiency." [4]
Comparable efforts are underway in nearly 10 other states, efforts that are patterned at least in part after the highly publicized Trump initiative, headed by billionaire Elon Musk. [2, 3]
The new TX House DOGE has pledged "to closely scrutinize the inner-workings of state government, which is expected to consume more than $320 billion over the next two years." [2]
And although TX House Speaker Burrows has boasted he expects [the TX House DOGE] will “make headlines” every week [5], the TX House DOGE will be a two-year process, covering the current 140-day session that ends in June and the legislative interim between this session and the next in 2027. [2] This extension of the House DOGE responsibilities,beyond the 89th Texas Legislative session, has led another TX House DOGE committee member to doubt if the new committee will "make serious headway during the 140-day legislative session and may choose to leave the heavy lifting for the interim period." [2]
Willow Park Civics Sources and Resources
[1] Olcott Newsletter: Monday, 03 March 2025, Willow Park Civics Blog, posted 06 March 2025, Excerpt
DELIVERY OF GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY COMMITTEE (DOGE)
"I am super excited to be a member of the Texas DOGE committee! Cutting spending and making government more efficient is a passion of mine and the hope is to parlay those achievements into providing more property tax relief to the hardworking citizens of Texas! If any of y’all are aware of government waste, feel free to reach out to my office at (512) 463-0656. I am already coordinating with other members of the committee to develop strategies of how best to detect government fraud, waste and abuse."
[1] Brandon Gill Defends DOGE, Slams Democrat Hypocrisy on Government Waste, Texas Scorecard, 13 February 2025
The new congressman says his mission is to expose financial corruption and fight back against government waste.
[2] Texas House DOGE committee preps for first hearing on government spending, waste, Fort Worth Report, 03 March 2025
The state’s newly empaneled House Delivery of Government Efficiency Committee gets down to work this week in what its leader says will be a long overdue assault on bloat, red tape and excessive spending throughout Texas state government.
Chaired by Southlake Republican Giovanni Capriglione and featuring three other Tarrant County House members, the so-called “DOGE” committee will hold its first hearing Wednesday with testimony from more than a dozen state agencies in its opening review of what could be a wholesale evaluation of operations.
The review is expected to be a two-year process, covering the current 140-day session that ends in June and the legislative interim between this session and the next in 2027.
The 13-member committee is patterned at least in part after the highly publicized Trump initiative, headed by billionaire Elon Musk, which has already threatened the jobs of more than 200,000 federal workers and is working to cut more than $1 trillion from the federal government.
In addition to Republican House Speaker Dustin Burrows’ creation of the Texas DOGE panel — composed of eight Republicans and five Democrats — comparable efforts are underway in nearly 10 other states in response to Trump’s outcry against “bloated” and “sloppy” government.
... pledge to closely scrutinize the inner-workings of state government, which is expected to consume more than $320 billion over the next two years.
Tinderholt said in a statement to the Report that he particularly wants to “take a closer look” at agencies that aren’t subject to the state’s biennial sunset review process “so we can provide proper oversight to these agencies and ensure they’re operating at maximum efficiency.”
Another committee member, Houston-area Republican Briscoe Cain, expressed skepticism that DOGE will make serious headway during the 140-day legislative session and may choose to leave the heavy lifting for the interim period.
[3] Conservatives clinch longtime goal of booting Democrats from leadership ranks in Texas House, The Texas Tribune, 23 January 2025
The House will have fewer permanent committees than last session, with lawmakers abolishing and condensing its previous 34 standing committees to 30. Lawmakers created an entirely new committee on “Delivery of Government Efficiency,” or DOGE, in a nod to the new federal group run by tech billionaire Elon Musk. That committee will focus on eliminating inefficiencies in state services as well as overseeing open government matters and the regulation of the burgeoning field of artificial intelligence.
[4] Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick outlines sweeping conservative agenda with list of top 25 legislative priorities, The Texas Tribune. 29 January 2025
Most legislation on Patrick’s list had yet to be filed; the only details were his office’s informal titles for each bill, such as for Senate Bill 14: “Texas DOGE – Improving Government Efficiency.” Some priorities were linked to spending items outlined in the first drafts of the state budget filed by lawmakers last week, including an effort spearheaded by Patrick to create a $3 billion dementia research institute.
[5] Texas Gets Its Own DOGE, Austin Chronicle, 20 February 2025
House speaker expects it will “make headlines” every week
Burrows praised the committee chairman Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake, as “literally made for this committee.”
“I spoke with him yesterday. He has already found great, great opportunities,” Burrows told the crowd. “I predict Gio is going to make headlines every single month and week that he is in there for the next two years rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse. And I'm really excited to see what he does.”
On Feb. 14 Capriglione tweeted a photo of a dodgeball bearing the Texas flag. He wrote: “The 5 D’s of Doge: doge, discover, disrupt, deliver, doge. Members of the Texas House Committee on Delivery of Government Efficiency are already working hard and making plans to deliver!”
• Texas’ DOGE committee takes inspiration from Elon Musk’s federal operation, The Texas Tribune, 07 March 2025
The new legislative panel has been tasked to reduce the size and scope of government. But Democrats say they’re not interested in replicating Musk’s slash-and-burn approach.
• As Texas gets redder, John Cornyn could face toughest primary season of his career, The Texas Tribune 11 February 2025
Cornyn has also joined Abbott in calling for the federal government to reimburse Texas for Operation Lone Star and is a founding member of the DOGE Caucus, aligning himself with the cost-cutting mission spearheaded by Elon Musk.
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