H-2217.1
HOUSE BILL 2076
State of Washington
69th Legislature
2025 Regular Session
By Representatives Walsh, Ley, Jacobsen, Marshall, Corry, and Caldier
Read first time 04/12/25. Referred to Committee on State Government & Tribal Relations.
AN ACT Relating to creating the Washington department of government efficiency; amending RCW 44.80.020 and 44.90.020 ; reenacting and amending RCW 44.04.260 and 43.88.230 ; adding a new section to chapter 34.05 RCW; adding a new chapter to Title 43 RCW; making an appropriation; providing an expiration date; and declaring an emergency.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that most of the state's government enforcement decisions and discretionary expenditures are not made by elected representatives but rather by unelected bureaucrats within government agencies who view themselves as immune from accountability. Likewise, most legal edicts are not laws enacted by the legislature but are rules and regulations promulgated by bureaucrats. This imposes massive direct and indirect costs on Washington's working taxpayers. The legislature finds that United States supreme court decisions in West Virginia v. EPA and Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo serve as relevant reminders that agencies only have the authority granted to them as specified by statute. In West Virginia v. EPA , the court declared that an agency that seeks to decide an issue of vast economic and political significance must have clear congressional authorization to do so; a principle referred to as the major questions doctrine. In the case of Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo , the court held that the federal administrative procedure act requires courts to exercise their independent judgment in deciding whether an agency has acted within its statutory authority rather than deferring to an agency's interpretation of the law simply because a statute is ambiguous. Consistent with these principles, the legislature recognizes the need for a comprehensive review of state statutes and agency regulations for the purpose of improving the efficiency of state government operations and expenditures and ensuring that statutes that delegate authority to agencies provide clear and specific legislative authorization.
The legislature intends to establish the Washington department of government efficiency, hereinafter referred to as "WADOGE," to develop and launch a process to identify state government policies, processes, and expenditures that are inefficient or unnecessary and should be considered for removal. The legislature intends for WADOGE to work with agencies to identify and halt enforcement of regulations that are beyond an agency's statutory authority and that should therefore be repealed. The legislature also intends for WADOGE to work with agencies to find opportunities to consolidate duplicative and miscellaneous agency functions.