Kansas launches portal mimicking DOGE, asking public for input on government efficiency
The Kansas Legislature has decided to emulate the Department of Government Efficiency initiative as the world’s richest person slashes his way through federal agencies’ workforce and budgets.
No, Elon Musk is not coming to Kansas. But the Senate now has a government efficiency committee and an online portal seeking suggestions for how state agencies could trim waste and better serve the public.
“As Kansas citizens, you also have a right to expect that government, at all levels, is on your side and operating in the most efficient and effective way possible,” Senate President Ty Masterson, an Andover Republican, said in January.
The portal asks respondents to share basic information about themselves, select the policy area they’re interested in and leave a comment for lawmakers to review.
When Missouri launched a similar portal earlier this year, it was quickly flooded with responses calling for lawmakers to protect abortion rights. In the more than 5,000 pages of emails obtained by The Star, “abortion” and “Amendment 3” received more than 600 mentions.
Other calls for police accountability and critiques of Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s headline-grabbing lawsuits featured prominently, along with joke answers, off-topic rants and some threats.
Policy areas respondents can choose from in the Kansas government efficiency portal include education, finance, general government, health, human services, judiciary, natural resources, public safety and transportation. “Other” is also an option for out-of-the-box ideas.
Unlike its Missouri counterpart, which has created a spreadsheet of top portal submissions — abortion and police accountability excluded — the Kansas Committee on Government Transparency has yet to make any of its responses public.
That committee is being chaired by Sen. Renee Erickson, a Wichita Republican. Bills working their way through her committee include a proposal to prevent local governments from implementing guaranteed income programs, a proposal to prohibit full-time state employees from working from home, and another directing the secretary for children and families to request a federal exemption allowing Kansas to ban people from using food assistance to buy candy and soda.
This story was originally published March 6, 2025 at 4:48 PM.
