FRANKLIN COUNTY, Pa. (WHTM) — Senator Doug Mastriano is proposing a program that, right now, only exists at the federal level and has drawn widespread criticism and confusion.

The Department Of Government Efficiency has laid off thousands of workers. This proposed state program has the same name and idea but Mastriano says it’s very different.

“The inspiration really is not just what’s going on in D.C., but also with Josh Shapiro’s, $51 billion state budget,” Mastriano said.

Enter Pennsylvania DOGE, a cost-cutting initiative mirroring Elon Musk.

“At the federal level it differs greatly because that’s executive branch driven and this is legislative branch driven,” Mastriano said.

Pennsylvania DOGE would include the House, Senate, Treasury and Auditor General’s Office.

“If a vote’s made and there’s a tie, the tie-breaker, this is brilliant,” Mastriano said. “Is the state treasurer. What happens then? Okay, we have cuts. What happens to that money? It goes right back into the budget, you know, right back into our fund, rather not into the Governor’s budget, but it comes back to the people.”

Like in D.C. – the program’s empowered to stop spending it deems unnecessary.

“If we cut programs and departments, of course, they’ll be jobs lost,” Mastriano said.

Not all lawmakers are on board. Democratic State Senator Vincent Hughes, not DOGE-ing the question.

“Any replication of what Musk and Trump have created in Washington, D.C. to come and cause the kind of chaos that they’ve caused at the federal level, at the local level, unacceptable, unacceptable,” Hughes said.

Hughes points out – Pennsylvania already has an auditor and inspector general who investigates how money is spent. He warns the state doesn’t need D.C.’s chaos.

“And I guarantee you the people in Pennsylvania are not for any replication of that,” Hughes said.

Mastriano says the bottom line is about cutting costs. Specifically, he tells me he’d like to see spending decrease in education and health and human services.