TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WFLA) — President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, also known as DOGE, has stirred up controversy as it searches for wasteful federal spending. Now, Florida GOP lawmakers are planning a similar initiative.

Republicans at the statehouse are taking a page out of DOGE’s book, aiming to reduce state agency regulations and bolster Florida’s business climate. However, Democrats remain cautious in the face of these efforts to streamline government.

“I ran for office to work on policy that was less government, less regulation and more for free enterprise. Reducing regulation and reducing bureaucracy is one of the reasons why I came to Tallahassee,” said State Representative Tiffany Esposito (R-Fort Myers).

Representative Esposito and Senator Danny Burgess (R-Zephyrhills) introduced legislation that grants more power to the legislature in rulemaking while reducing unchecked government overreach.

In an interview with 8 On Your Side, Esposito shared her perspective from her day job as the President and CEO of Southwest Florida Incorporated. She emphasized the importance of listening to the needs of Florida businesses.
“Through my conversations with small businesses and through my work within my community, we consistently hear that businesses need predictability, businesses need to understand what the regulations are. Time is money. The more regulations that we put on businesses and that we put on Floridians, the more expensive it becomes,” Esposito said.

House Bill 305 is broken down into three main components: a cost-benefit analysis for new regulations, a mandatory eight-year expiration date for outdated rules, and expanded legislative oversight on agency rule making.

Across the aisle, Democrats say they are on board with providing more transparency and accountability but argue that a bill isn’t going to fix this issue.
“We don’t need a bill, we just need action,” said State Representative Anna V. Eskamani (D-Orlando). “One element that always frustrates me is a lot of discussion on accountability and yet we have in front of us, clear examples or systems are broken, and nothing’s done about.”

Representative Eskamani added that as the state continues to mirror the work that’s being done on the national level, she takes concern with the inspiration behind the bill.
“It’s not from Elon Musk. It’s from a right-wing think tank funded by billionaires. And its intention could have real harm, as we’ve seen with DOGE,” Eskamani said.
“The American people have spoken, and we have seen from the national level on down that we need less bureaucracy, less red tape and more opportunity for Americans to thrive, and this bill will allow for that,” said Rep. Esposito.

The bill was heard in the Administrative Procedure Committee on Monday and, if passed, would become effective July 1, 2025.