Florida’s Office of Lieutenant Governor may soon be dissolved.
State lawmakers are pushing for a constitutional amendment to instead create a new elected cabinet position called the Commissioner of Government Efficiency. It passed its first committee Tuesday.
The new commissioner would be responsible for investigating and reporting on fraud, waste, and abuse in the state government. It would helm Florida’s Departments of Law Enforcement, Veteran’s Affairs and Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.
Merritt Island Republican Representative Tyler Sirois, one of the sponsors of the proposed ballot initiative, said at its committee stop that the push nationally from the Trump administration with its Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, inspired the proposal.
“We bring this amendment proposal forward in the spirit of the national conversation that is going on right now about reducing the size and scope of government, creating more efficiencies in our government operations, making sure that our citizens are well served and that their taxpayer dollars are well spent,” he said.
He also believes the current vacancy in Lieutenant Governor creates a smooth transition for the change. That vacancy opened when former Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez was appointed the interim president of Florida International University.
“We have an opportunity to kind of look holistically at the different branches of our government. We have an opportunity to add some capability to the cabinet, maybe do a little bit of restructuring, which we've done before throughout Florida history. So, this is nothing…out of the ordinary, or anything to get your hair on fire about,” he said.
But North Miami Democratic Representative Dotie Joseph is concerned that the new position isn’t well fleshed out. Before voting against it in committee, she argued details like how much it would cost and how it would function remain unclear.
“This has the possibility of making government bigger rather than smaller. That concerns me, and it's interesting to be saying that as a Democrat,” she said.
We don't have an analysis of what the impact would be financially of this new Florida Doge. That's problematic. I know we're going to get there, but it seems like a lot of concepts of a of a thing without the substance of a thing, and without that substance, it almost feels a little irresponsible.”
If the legislature approves it this session, 60% of Florida voters would have to support it during the 2026 general election. If that happens, Florida voters would have the automatic option to reverse course with a referendum on the change in 2044.