By: Michael Achterling
BISMARCK, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) – North Dakota’s version of DOGE is poised to begin work this week, but members say it won’t be just like the federal government version that inspired it.
“The federal thing seems to be ‘Gotcha. I caught you doing something wrong,’ instead of looking at what are our outcomes and how to do things better,” said Senate Minority Leader Kathy Hogan, D-Fargo.
North Dakota lawmakers this year established the Legislative Task Force on Government Efficiency, similar to the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency. The 10-member group meets for the first time Wednesday to begin looking for potential efficiencies in state government.
Rep. Nathan Toman, R-Mandan, who will chair the effort, said his goal for the task force is to work with state agencies to ensure they are running effectively.
“We’re trying to view it as a partnership saying, ‘We want to help you guys succeed and we want the employees to succeed,’” Toman said.
The first meeting will include presentations from the departments of Health and Human Services, Information Technology and Commerce. Joe Morrissette, director of the Office of Management and Budget, said those agencies, along with higher education and K-12 education, have some of the largest budgets.
“If the end result is going to be an impact on the overall state budget, you’ve got to look at those big areas,” Morrissette said.
North Dakota’s task force will not have Elon Musk’s chainsaw, with DOGE seeking out savings without the approval of Congress. The state version will submit a report before the 2027 legislative session that details possible cost savings, plus recommended legislation.
Toman also said the executive branch members of the task force may be able to take action to adjust some programs, if those changes are allowed under state law without needing additional legislation.
Lawmakers earlier this year approved a state budget of $20.3 billion for 2025-27, including federal and other funds. Toman said he believes the task force could find more than $1 billion in cost savings, though he said a more realistic goal would be saving hundreds of millions.
Toman said examples of efficiencies could include reducing funding allocated to programs, cutting staffing levels, reevaluating state partnerships with vendors and streamlining processes.
He added the task force will be looking at federal funding cuts to the state and their effects on state programs and agencies.
State Auditor Josh Gallion, one of the members, said he hopes the task force reduces redundancies and improves outcomes.
“But I also think we have to have a goal of reducing overall spending,” Gallion said. “Our state budget, the growth that we’ve had over the last decade is just not sustainable.”
Morrissette, also a member of the task force, said finding government program efficiency does not always mean finding things to cut.
“I hope the committee has an open mind when we look at things because there could be some opportunities where in order to do something better and be more effective, it may cost more resources,” he said.
For example, he said his office recently hired a leasing agent for government facilities to take the leasing burden off of state agencies. The office also added a state construction supervisor so all state construction projects are handled under one roof, making it more efficient.
“I think long-term, we’ll save millions over time by having better negotiation on leases and better negotiation on construction managing fees,” Morrissette said.
Jonathan Casper, a former Fargo-area state senator and business owner, is the only person on the task force not currently serving in state government. He said he doesn’t expect the state task force will find misuses of programs and funds, but it can still look for efficiencies in government.
“North Dakota is constitutionally required to balance its budget. The federal government doesn’t,” Casper said. “Until such time as the federal government does, I think having something like DOGE on the federal level is different than on the state level.”
House Bill 1442, which created the task force, calls for the group to meet at least once every three months and operate until July 31, 2031.
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