Government Reform

Governor Dunleavy highlighted extensive government modernization including migrating over 1,100 state applications to Microsoft's cloud system, launching the MyAlaska mobile app with 50 state services, introducing mobile driver's licenses, and dramatically reducing licensing processing times (nursing licenses from 13 weeks to 2.5 weeks). He also emphasized holding budget growth to less than 1% per year, paying down debts, improving credit ratings, and proposed a comprehensive fiscal stabilization package to end budget volatility.

Governor Ivey highlighted consolidating the new Department of Workforce and moving the Department of Veterans Affairs into the Governor's Cabinet as efficiency reforms. She proposed a 2% pay raise for all state employees and emphasized that the state has avoided proration through conservative budgeting.

Governor Hobbs announced a new Arizona Capacity and Efficiency Initiative — a series of cost-saving measures projected to save up to $100 million over three years. She emphasized the approach would 'streamline, consolidate, and cut costs to make government work for our people' without decimating important services, and proposed eliminating the Data Center Tax Exemption as a $38 million corporate handout.

Governor Polis called for creating a unified workforce development department to serve as a 'one-stop-shop,' consolidating programs scattered across seven state departments with 110 different programs. He highlighted the myColorado app used by nearly 2 million Coloradans, contract turnaround times reduced from 61 to 33 days, and state hiring reforms that focus on skills instead of degrees.

Governor Lamont emphasized delivering seven balanced budgets in a row, building a $4 billion rainy day fund, and paying down over $10 billion in pension debt. He proposed eliminating licensing fees for nurses and the trades, and announced plans for a Blue Ribbon Commission on K-12 Education to examine funding strategies, special education reforms, and reducing administrative overhead across 207 school districts.

Governor Meyer highlighted $65 million in new efficiencies and cost savings found by the Budget Director's team, with the proposed budget returning state growth to under 5%. He noted the unemployment insurance backlog decreased 70% from over 7,000 claims to fewer than 2,000, and highlighted DNREC's transformation into a culture of efficiency with new dashboards and improved permitting systems.

Governor Kemp emphasized reducing state employee turnover by over 25% while keeping full-time state workforce at 2019 levels, and cash-funding $4.1 billion in capital projects to save $3.3 billion in interest payments. He highlighted reducing outstanding debt by over 20% in three years and achieving the lowest debt-service-to-revenue ratio since the 1970s, while proposing a one-time $2,000 pay supplement for all state employees.

Governor Green focused on government efficiency in disaster response, noting the state provided over 6,800 temporary housing solutions for Maui fire survivors. He emphasized reducing spending by $1 billion in 2023 and another $500 million in 2024 without cutting needed services, while growing the rainy day fund to $1.5 billion.

Governor Reynolds announced partnerships with Amazon Web Services to consolidate more than 50 state call centers into a single AI-powered system, and with Google Public Sector to build a modern child welfare system at less than half the typical cost. She also promoted a new online transparency tool allowing Iowans to see how their city or county spends tax dollars, and called for property tax reform including a cap on overall revenue growth for local governments.

Governor Little highlighted making Idaho the least regulated state in the nation by cutting 95% of rules and regulations, and recommended repealing 145,000 words from state law through the 'Red Tape Rollback' report. He codified Zero-Based Regulation requiring routine review of rule chapters annually, and emphasized right-sizing spending through his 'ENDURING IDAHO' budget plan without raising taxes.

Governor Braun emphasized running government like a business, finding $465 million in Medicaid savings through cracking down on waste, fraud, and abuse. He appointed a new consumer advocate to challenge utility rate increases, appointed rate-payer conscious members to the Utility Regulatory Commission, and noted most state agencies are operating with 10% cuts while the projected budget shortfall was neutralized.

Governor Kelly highlighted passing 587 bipartisan bills during her administration and emphasized fiscal management that turned inherited deficits into surpluses with a $2 billion rainy day fund. She created the Office of Early Childhood by blending 20 programs into one, and closed the 'Bank of KDOT' to restore proper infrastructure investment.

Governor Moore announced a $4 million investment for AI workforce training and plans to use AI to help Marylanders navigate SNAP, Medicaid, unemployment insurance, and child care. He highlighted reforming procurement processes, cutting wait times for state contracts from months to weeks, and noted the budget is smaller than the previous year for the fourth consecutive year without raising taxes or fees.

Governor Mills emphasized the state's credit ratings being upgraded to the second highest possible rating, with agencies citing 'strong fiscal governance.' She highlighted connecting over 250,000 homes and businesses to internet through broadband investments and proposed making community college free permanently as a structural reform.

Governor Kehoe signed Executive Order 26-03 creating 'Missouri GREAT' (Government Responsibility, Efficiency, Accountability, and Transformation initiative), and Executive Order 26-02 committing to safe and effective AI use in state government operations. He proposed eliminating Missouri's individual income tax through a phased plan and emphasized reducing more than $600 million from the general revenue core operating budget.

Governor Pillen emphasized running government like a business, with the Department of Health and Human Services achieving $141 million in net savings and returning $30 million to taxpayers by cutting off ineligible Medicaid recipients also collecting benefits from another state. He proposed eliminating or merging duplicative government functions and called for tort reform to protect businesses from frivolous lawsuits.

Governor Ayotte highlighted creating a Commission on Governmental Efficiency and implementing a new lean 60-day permitting process to streamline state government. She emphasized the state balanced its budget without raising taxes and called on PURA to hold utilities accountable for ratepayers rather than shareholders.

Governor Sherrill signed executive orders on her first day declaring a State of Emergency on Utility Costs and directing the Board of Public Utilities to pause new rate increase requests. She emphasized that 'agencies will be judged by results, not rhetoric' and pledged to make government more transparent, stating 'we will streamline, consolidate, and cut costs.'

Governor Lujan Grisham proposed zoning reform to expedite and increase housing production, codifying the Climate Action Plan, and a $1.5 billion transportation bonding package. She called for medical malpractice reform, health care licensing compacts, and eliminating gross receipts tax on medical services as structural reforms to improve health care access.

Governor Hochul called for modernizing environmental review processes that 'haven't been updated in literally half a century,' proposing that when communities say yes to housing, infrastructure, or clean energy, the state should let them build without getting 'stuck in regulatory hell.' She also proposed eliminating outdated regulations and leveraging cutting-edge technology to make government work better.

Governor Stitt called for a constitutional 3% annual cap on recurring spending growth, proposed eliminating the state's high school activities association (OSSAA), and advocated making the Superintendent of Public Instruction an appointed rather than elected position. He also called for a state question to allow adjustments to Medicaid expansion and emphasized reducing regulation as a core governing principle.

Governor Shapiro proposed creating a $100 million Federal Response Fund to mitigate federal government actions threatening state services, and highlighted that the state's bond rating went up twice, saving taxpayers over $200 million. He emphasized the need for sustainable, recurring mass transit funding and proposed $30 million in competitive grants for fire company infrastructure.

Governor McKee proposed $600 million in bond proposals to 'Keep Rhode Island Building' across business, higher education, K-12, and housing infrastructure. He called for holding private health insurers accountable by setting enforceable caps on costs with penalties, and noted the budget would fully close RIPTA's remaining $14 million deficit for long-term transit stability.

Governor McMaster highlighted the most significant government restructuring in over 30 years, dissolving commission-run agencies (Health and Environmental Control, Mental Health, Disabilities and Special Needs) and reconstituting them as gubernatorial cabinet agencies for better accountability. He also proposed reforming the Summary Court system to require magistrate judges to be attorneys, with state-funded compensation and centralized oversight by the Chief Justice.

Governor Rhoden proposed replacing county property taxes with a half-cent sales tax option as a local government reform, and called for creating a State Apprenticeship Agency for more flexible workforce training. He announced legislation to recognize tribal law enforcement under state law and emphasized government efficiency by highlighting the state's third-lowest SNAP error rate and minimal Medicaid payment errors.

Governor Lee called for Certificate of Need law reform to remove barriers to healthcare investment, noting these laws have turned away nearly $1.5 billion in healthcare investment since 2000. He also pushed for scope of practice reforms to let medical professionals practice to the full extent of their training, framing both as getting government out of the way of better healthcare delivery.

Governor Scott devoted his entire address to education system reform through Act 73 implementation, calling for consolidating 52 supervisory unions and 119 districts serving only 80,000 students into far fewer, larger districts. He argued the current fragmented system creates massive inefficiency and inequity, with education spending reaching $2.5 billion and driving unsustainable property tax increases, and warned he would not sign any bill that deviates from the reform path.

Governor Ferguson proposed a Millionaires' Tax to make the tax system more fair, noting the bottom 20% pay 13.8% of income in taxes while the top 1% pays only 4.1%. He highlighted government responsiveness improvements including reducing behavioral health license processing from four months to six weeks, and signed an executive order requiring agencies to refund application fees when they miss processing deadlines.

Governor Evers highlighted signing over 800 bills with 97% having bipartisan support, and emphasized saving taxpayers over $600 million by paying off about $3 billion of state debt. He announced plans to call a special session on a constitutional amendment to ban partisan gerrymandering, and highlighted cracking down on worker misclassification to ensure 134,000 workers received owed wages and benefits.

Governor Morrisey proposed the Workforce Readiness & Opportunity Act to encourage micro-credentialing and portable benefits, and called for investing $100 million to supplement road and bridge repair. He launched the SENTRY flood detection pilot initiative requesting $10 million for modernized predictive flood warning systems, and emphasized fiscal responsibility by fully funding the HOPE scholarship in the baseline budget.

Governor Gordon called for rejuvenating and reimagining the Wyoming Business Council through a task force rather than eliminating it, and emphasized competitive state employee salaries to maintain government efficiency. He highlighted Wyoming's exceptionally low SNAP error rate (3.73%, third lowest nationally) and minimal Medicaid payment errors ($413 total on a three-quarter billion dollar budget) as evidence that investing in competent state employees prevents fraud and waste.

Governor Newsom proposed unifying policy-making by the State Board of Education and Department of Education to streamline education governance, and called for reauthorizing the CalCompetes tax credit program for five more years. He highlighted updating environmental review to allow faster permitting for housing and clean energy projects, using the state's new fast-track permitting authority for major infrastructure.

Governor Healey announced plans to cut 25% more regulations for small businesses, and highlighted converting unused state property — former courthouses, hospitals, and offices — into housing. She proposed eliminating prior authorization requirements from insurance companies for medical care, stating 'if your doctor says you need it, you'll get it,' and called for making subscription cancellation as easy as signing up.