Madison, WI — State Representative Jerry O’Connor (R- Fond du Lac) released the following statement after introducing two pieces of legislation with the Speaker’s Task Force on Government Efficiency & Modernization:
“As technology progresses, our government should routinely evaluate where it can be safely leveraged in our work to make Government more efficient,” said Representative O’Connor. “The two bills I authored as a part of the Speaker’s Task Force on Government Efficiency & Modernization will ensure our agencies and their programs are working for Wisconsinites, not just working.”
LRB-5444/1: Establishes a systematic reporting process to equip the Legislature and Executive Branch with a current schedule of fees and fines as they may be governed by the legislature or managed under agency rules. This bill does not raise any fees or fines; it simply creates a needed reporting mechanism that the legislature can use to address matters under its purview.
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LRB-5950/1: Establishes a Legislative ‘Data Efficiency Study Steering Committee’ which is tasked with contracting with a nonstate, qualified firm to perform a study on data sharing practices between agencies and how Wisconsin can optimize technology to make government more efficient. This builds on and collaborates with the work of the interagency working group from the Governor’s Taskforce on Workforce and AI.
“Too often, the Legislature and State Agencies set fees and fines, then forget about them. Over the decades, as programs change, this can lead to overfunding and underfunding of programs that Wisconsinites depend on. It’s time we, your elected officials, have the information in front of us to ensure we are making the best decisions possible.”
“By embracing interagency data sharing and other technology optimizations, it is our goal that the report from the ‘Data Efficiency Study Steering Committee’ and subsequent actions will save Wisconsin taxpayers millions of dollars by eliminating redundancies. If the technology exists, and it is safe and secure, we must look at including technology in our government operations.”
