Missouri DOGE portal receives over 9,000 pages of feedback
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Missouri’s newly created Department of Government Efficiency has received more than 9,000 pages of responses through its Missouri Accountability Portal.
Records obtained by ABC 17 News show that in the first 48 days of the portal’s operation, the department received approximately 9,048 responses, with most coming in the first 24 days.
Between Feb. 4-28, the portal averaged about 370 responses per day, totaling 8,886 pages. On the second and third days, the department received more than 1,800 responses each day. However, submissions declined toward the end of February and into March.
From March 1-24, the portal averaged fewer than seven responses per day, with a total of 162 pages.
“The thing that we have had the most responses on on actionable items has been about chronic wasting disease,” state Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman (R-Jefferson County), the chair of the Government Efficiency Committee, told ABC 17 News. “We had a hearing last Monday on how the Conservation Department came up with that, what the questions were of the public to try to get more transparency, and to find out, is this the best way to deal with it?”
Coleman said that the committee isn’t focused on political issues. However, many responses voiced frustration with lawmakers' efforts to overturn Amendment 3, with some stating that the Missouri Legislature is “wasting time trying to overturn the will of the people.”
Several entries also criticized Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s recent lawsuits, including his case against Starbucks. It’s one of several categories that the committee hasn’t deemed helpful.
“Something we get over and over is that people are mad about the trash and recycling in their municipalities. Apparently, and this is true across the state, they just commingle those things and throw them all away. And people are really upset about that, rightly so. They carefully separate their recycling out from the trash and then nothing's gone. So we have limited ability to deal with that,” Coleman said.
On Monday, the Department of Government Efficiency heard a number of bills designed to improve government efficiency. This includes five bills introduced by Coleman:
- SB 720 – Requires the Office of Administration to report state-owned properties left unused for at least three years and allows the governor to sell them, reducing maintenance costs.
- SB 722 – Directs OA to report abandoned funds (unused for five or more years) to the General Assembly annually and transfers more than $6.6 million in long-dormant state funds to the General Revenue Fund.
- SB 723 – Requires OA to report tax credits unclaimed for at least five years and repeal them to eliminate inefficiencies.
- SB 729 – Dissolves inactive boards and commissions that haven’t met or taken action in three years, with annual reporting to maintain oversight.
- SB 757 – Eliminates outdated laws that no longer serve a purpose, reducing regulatory clutter and improving government operations.
“Any time we're able to move the ball forward on those issues, it's a win,” Coleman said. “We're full steam ahead, and we hope to get those out of committee as soon as possible.”
Missouri’s approach to government efficiency differs from the federal level by ensuring legislative oversight. However, Coleman says she is happy with the process.
“I feel really happy with the way Missouri is approaching it for Missouri,” Coleman said. “I'm cheering on the federal efforts and really looking forward to seeing a trillion in waste being cut and brought back in and eliminating unnecessary government.”
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