Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch Gov. Kim Reynolds, right, signed an executive order Monday establishing the state DOGE task force, joined by Emily Schmitt, general counsel for Sukup Manufacturing Co. who she chose to lead the initiative.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed an executive order Monday officially creating the state Department of Government Efficiency task force.

Reynolds said at a news conference the initiative, based on the federal DOGE headed by Elon Musk, will make recommendations to further her administration’s existing efforts to make government more efficient. It will also look at areas of improvement for federal and local governments.

The governor said the state task force’s work “will be organized around three broad goals: maximizing return on taxpayer investment, further refining our workforce and job training programs and leverage leveraging technology such as artificial intelligence.”

The governor announced her plans to create a state DOGE at her Condition of the State address in January, and spoke about her commitment to the effort when she testified at a U.S. House Oversight Hearing on Government Efficiency last week.

“Key to accomplishing these goals will be a group of business leaders who will serve on the task force, which will include representation from some of Iowa’s most innovative employers,” Reynolds said Monday. “Unlike government, which is largely insulated from the pressure of competition, their organizations, their businesses are constantly faced with the need to adapt, stream, streamline and upgrade to survive. Their work on the task force will involve applying this mindset and approach to government and developing recommendations on workforce, innovative cups, best practices, strategic performance metrics and more.”

The task force will be headed by Emily Schmitt, general counsel for Sukup Manufacturing Co., who joined Reynolds for the executive order signing. Alongside Schmitt, Iowa DOGE will be made up of between 15 and 20 business leaders, the governor said, and will have 180 days after their first meeting to submit a report and recommendations.

Schmitt said business leaders on the task force will bring their own expertise to the effort of reviewing government, but will also enlist experts and other resources when crafting their recommendations.

“In manufacturing, we continually do this every day,” Schmitt said. “We do layouts, we switch machines different pieces are made on, and we also integrate technology to reduce heavy workloads or duties, which all leads to a better employee engagement. … Establishing the Iowa DOGE Task Force is a natural step and continuation of all of these principles. I trust that the outcome of this task force will tangibly be felt by all Iowans when they interact with their state government.”

She also said Iowa DOGE will be soliciting feedback and suggestions from the general public through the new Iowa DOGE account on X, the social media platform owned by Musk, and through a public portal.

The federal DOGE has received heavy criticism as Musk and those working at DOGE gained access to the U.S. Treasury Department’s payment system and individuals’ personal and financial information maintained in the Treasury’s records. Reynolds said the state task force will not “get into personal information” of Iowans, but also said the scope of Iowa’s DOGE is different from those taken by the federal task force.

“We’re not the federal government, and we’re not we’re not $36 trillion in debt,” Reynolds said. “They’re $36 trillion in debt. They’re adding $2 trillion a year. … So I don’t know what their processes are out there. In Iowa, the different process, we balance our budget, we have a surplus. We’re saving taxpayer dollars by continuing to look how we can make it more efficient and more effective.”