Texas is taking a page from the Trump Administration’s playbook with the creation of its own DOGE-like committee.

The Lone Star State’s newly formed Committee on Delivery of Government Efficiency was announced this week by the Texas House speaker, Dustin Burrows, and will consist of a bipartisan panel of 13 members comprised of eight republicans and five democrats and will focus on taking on “inefficiencies in government services, reviewing agency regulations, and overseeing cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and emerging technologies.”

“I am grateful to every member who shared their input with me and thank my colleagues in advance for the work they will undertake this session. Taking the time to get this right was not just necessary — it is what Texans deserve of their government, and I am confident these appointments will position the House for a productive, successful session,” Mr. Burrows said in a statement posted to X.

The committee was spurred from inspiration of the federal Department of Government Efficiency, spearheaded by the world’s richest man Elon Musk which has created controversy after slashing thousands of initiatives and federal jobs and gaining access to government payment systems. 

Texas already has a similar group with the Sunset Advisory Commission, which convenes every 12 years to review state agencies and recommends reform policies. 

Republican state House member Giovanni Capriglione, who is a co-chairman on the committee with Democratic lawmaker Salman Bhojani, says that their DOGE will be honing its focus on increasing interaction with state agencies on a day-to-day basis and not axing departments.

“To increase transparency. To go and open up our public information act, to open up the public meetings act, so taxpayers, voters, constituents, and the press can go and get as much information as possible,” he said in a recent interview with NBC DFW. “Because technology and modernization is not just about making a faster computer but it’s about making more of this data available.”

Mr. Capriglione adds that they will also focus on oversight and the push for technology for new initiatives like the creation of a digital driver’s license, which would allow updates without going to the DMV.

“All of us know how painful it is to be in line or on the phone, waiting for help from the government, well maybe there’s ways to make it faster and easier and maybe cheaper at the same time,” he said.