Colorado Government Efficiency Authority
SB 25-135 would create the Colorado Government Efficiency Authority, a new body corporate and political subdivision of the state charged with reviewing state-funded agencies and departments for opportunities to reduce waste, improve service delivery, and lower costs. The authority would be governed by a board of five private-sector appointees with experience in state contracts, finance or law, energy and environmental work, transportation, and health care or real estate, plus three nonvoting advisory members from the Joint Budget Committee staff, the Office of State Planning and Budgeting, and the State Auditor.
The bill gives the authority broad duties to examine agency operations, personnel, and missions; identify efficiencies; work with the federal government on directives aimed at reducing costs; hold public hearings; and create a process for ongoing public recommendations. It also allows the authority to accept gifts, grants, donations, personal services, and federal money, while specifying that it is not funded by any state agency or department. Board members would serve without compensation, and the authority would be independent of administrative direction by state agencies.
If enacted, the bill would add a new section to Title 24 of the Colorado Revised Statutes establishing a separate governmental entity with oversight and advisory powers focused on efficiency and cost savings. It would not directly reorganize existing agencies or mandate specific cuts, but it would create a formal mechanism for reviewing state operations and making recommendations to the governor and General Assembly. The bill also contemplates use of federal funding and coordination with federal directives, which could influence how state agencies pursue administrative reforms and resource allocation.
The available voting history suggests the bill did not have broad support in the Senate State, Veterans, & Military Affairs Committee. An initial motion to refer the bill to the Committee of the Whole failed 1-3, and the committee then postponed the bill indefinitely by a 3-1 vote using a reverse roll call. No committee transcript was provided, so the record reflects procedural opposition rather than detailed debate, but the outcome indicates the measure was not well received in committee.
The main points of contention likely centered on whether Colorado should create a new independent authority to scrutinize state agencies and whether such a body would duplicate existing oversight functions already performed by the Joint Budget Committee, the Office of State Planning and Budgeting, and the State Auditor. The bill’s structure—using private-sector appointees, allowing federal coordination, and relying on gifts and grants rather than state funding—may also have raised concerns about accountability, independence, and the role of outside interests in evaluating government operations. Because there were no transcripts, the specific objections are not documented, but the committee vote shows at least one member supported advancing the bill while a majority opposed it.