SC Senate could bring DOGE to the state

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WSPA) – The South Carolina Senate has introduced a bill to create its own “Department of Government Efficiency,” or DOGE, echoing one of President Donald Trump’s initiatives in Washington D.C.

DOGE would be a commission of 10 people appointed to look for fraud, waste, and abuse in state government. Of the ten members, three would be appointed by the House Speaker, three by the President of the Senate, three from the Governor’s Office and one appointed as chair by the Department of Administration. The member from the Department of Administration would be a non-voting member.

Senator Stephen Goldfinch said he believes the commission would be effective.

“There’s a tendency to over bloat agencies with lawyers,” said Goldfinch.

However, Representative Roger Kirby said he is all about efficiency, but he doesn’t see the point of creating DOGE in South Carolina.

“The Republican party has been in charge of every leadership for the past 22 years. They’re talking about a Department for Efficiency oversight for the very departments they have been in control of for the past 22 years.”

Kirby said that there are already committees in place in South Carolina to do this job.

“We’re creating an agency to do things when we have already have multiple layers of agencies and oversight already in place. It seems to a lot of us that this is just theater.”

Murrell Smith, Speaker of the House of Representatives, told us last week that this Commission would be more efficient than other committees currently in place.

“We’re analyzing two or three agencies a year, I mean it is not a full-blown analysis and anything that helps us to better the process to save money and become more efficient, I think we are all for that,” Smith said.

In the bill, it said that the members of the commission will not be receiving money for their work.

The bill is currently being sent to the full Senate Finance Committee.