Gov. Jeff Landry has established a new government efficiency task force to look at ways to cut state government spending. (Hilary Scheinuk/The Advocate, Pool)
Following in the footsteps of President-elect Donald Trump, Gov. Jeff Landry will establish a program to seek out waste and inefficiency in state government.
Landry signed an executive order Thursday to establish a new government efficiency task force and named oil and gas executive Steve Orlando as the state’s new Financial Responsibility czar. He will be in charge of overseeing a new Fiscal Responsibility Program and calling its meetings.
He and other members of the task force are supposed to evaluate the state’s current expenditures, state contracts and staffing levels for potential cuts. They will also look for places to reduce wait times for state services and see where public spending can be cut by taking advantage of technology, according to Landry’s executive order.
The group’s first report is due Dec. 31, 2025.
Orlando, chairman of Allison Marine Holdings, is a longtime supporter of the governor’s. He runs one of Landry’s political action committees, Louisiana Citizens for Job Creators, and has lent Landry his private plane for travel, according to The Times-Picayune.
Orlando is also on the board of directors for Harvey Gulf International Marine, a company that Landry political supporter and confidant Shane Guidry owns.
Landry’s government efficiency order resembles Trump’s proposed Department of Government Efficiency, which billionaire tech leader Elon Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy lead. The government-cutting initiative has been given the acronym DOGE in a nod to the cryptocurrency dogecoin, in which Musk is a substantial investor.
Alongside Orlando, Senate President Cameron Henry, R-Metairie, and House Speaker Phillip DeVillier, R-Eunice also appointed four legislators from each chamber to the task force.
YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE.
Henry picked Sens. Valarie Hodges, R-Denham Springs; Blake Miguez, R-New Iberia; Jeremy Stine, R-Lake Charles; and Gerald Boudreaux, D-Lafayette. DeVillier selected Reps. Jack McFarland, R-Jonesboro; Stephanie Berault, R-Slidell; Phillip Tarver, R-Lake Charles and Adrian Fisher, D-Monroe.
In his executive order, Landry listed his record of cutting government spending as an elected official.
The governor claimed he’s helped reduce the state government budget by approximately $2 billion. But most of that $2 billion automatically came out of the budget as a result of cuts in the federal government spending and not decisions Landry and other state officials made.
In fact, Landry has grown state spending in some agencies since becoming governor in January. He has increased Louisiana State Police spending, for example, by adding a new troop in New Orleans.
YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE.
The governor has also pushed a number of tough-on-crime laws expected to cost the state more money. They will result in longer prison sentences for incarcerated people.
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by Julie O’Donoghue, Louisiana Illuminator
December 13, 2024
by Julie O’Donoghue, Louisiana Illuminator
December 13, 2024
Following in the footsteps of President-elect Donald Trump, Gov. Jeff Landry will establish a program to seek out waste and inefficiency in state government.
Landry signed an executive order Thursday to establish a new government efficiency task force and named oil and gas executive Steve Orlando as the state’s new Financial Responsibility czar. He will be in charge of overseeing a new Fiscal Responsibility Program and calling its meetings.
He and other members of the task force are supposed to evaluate the state’s current expenditures, state contracts and staffing levels for potential cuts. They will also look for places to reduce wait times for state services and see where public spending can be cut by taking advantage of technology, according to Landry’s executive order.
The group’s first report is due Dec. 31, 2025.
Orlando, chairman of Allison Marine Holdings, is a longtime supporter of the governor’s. He runs one of Landry’s political action committees, Louisiana Citizens for Job Creators, and has lent Landry his private plane for travel, according to The Times-Picayune.
Orlando is also on the board of directors for Harvey Gulf International Marine, a company that Landry political supporter and confidant Shane Guidry owns.
Landry’s government efficiency order resembles Trump’s proposed Department of Government Efficiency, which billionaire tech leader Elon Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy lead. The government-cutting initiative has been given the acronym DOGE in a nod to the cryptocurrency dogecoin, in which Musk is a substantial investor.
Alongside Orlando, Senate President Cameron Henry, R-Metairie, and House Speaker Phillip DeVillier, R-Eunice also appointed four legislators from each chamber to the task force.
YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE.
Henry picked Sens. Valarie Hodges, R-Denham Springs; Blake Miguez, R-New Iberia; Jeremy Stine, R-Lake Charles; and Gerald Boudreaux, D-Lafayette. DeVillier selected Reps. Jack McFarland, R-Jonesboro; Stephanie Berault, R-Slidell; Phillip Tarver, R-Lake Charles and Adrian Fisher, D-Monroe.
In his executive order, Landry listed his record of cutting government spending as an elected official.
The governor claimed he’s helped reduce the state government budget by approximately $2 billion. But most of that $2 billion automatically came out of the budget as a result of cuts in the federal government spending and not decisions Landry and other state officials made.
In fact, Landry has grown state spending in some agencies since becoming governor in January. He has increased Louisiana State Police spending, for example, by adding a new troop in New Orleans.
YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE.
The governor has also pushed a number of tough-on-crime laws expected to cost the state more money. They will result in longer prison sentences for incarcerated people.
GET THE MORNING HEADLINES.
GET THE MORNING HEADLINES.
Louisiana Illuminator is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Greg LaRose for questions: info@lailluminator.com.
Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our website. AP and Getty images may not be republished. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of any other photos and graphics.
Julie O’Donoghue is a senior reporter for the Louisiana Illuminator. She’s received awards from the Virginia Press Association and Louisiana-Mississippi Associated Press.
Louisiana Illuminator is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
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The Louisiana Illuminator is an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization with a mission to cast light on how decisions in Baton Rouge are made and how they affect the lives of everyday Louisianians. Our in-depth investigations and news stories, news briefs and commentary help residents make sense of how state policies help or hurt them and their neighbors statewide.
We’re part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our website. (See full republishing guidelines.)
© Louisiana Illuminator, 2024
