20-02-2025
Georgia Democrats fear new Republican regulatory bill is DOGE 2.0
The Brief
Sen. Greg Dolezal (R-Cumming) is sponsoring the Red Tape Roll Back bill (Senate Bill 28).
Dolezal says the bill would reduce costs and increase accountability among state agencies.
Democrats say Republicans are just trying to bring DOGE to Georgia.
ATLANTA - Georgia Democrats are seeing red over the Red Tape Roll Back bill.
They accused Senate Republicans of borrowing a page from Elon Musk's "DOGE" Playbook.
What we know
SB 28 would require state agencies to review and update their rules and regulations every four years and requires agencies to consider the economic impact of new regulations on small businesses.
Agencies would have to conduct economic analyses for proposed rules that cost more than $1 million to implement.
The other side
Sen. Emanuel Jones (D-Decatur) and his colleagues voiced their concerns during Wednesday's Senate committee hearing.
Senate Democrats believe the bill would lead to aggressive cost-cutting and allow Republicans to slash vital services.
"When you look at Senate Bill 28, that's exactly what it's doing. It's a power grab," Sen. Jones maintained. "The next step is, 'Why do we need the agencies?' Then, the next step is to attempt to eliminate certain agencies, as well as cut employment in the great state."
What they're saying
Sen. Greg Dolezal (R-Cumming) is sponsoring the bill and says it will reduce costs and increase accountability.
"It's in the spirit of DOGE, which I think is the recognition that we want to reduce the size and scope of government," Dolezal explained. "It is not in the spirit of DOGE in that there is no external agency that is auditing existing agencies or anything like that."
The Source
FOX 5 Atlanta reporter Deidra Dukes interviewed Sen. Emanuel Jones (D-Decatur) and Sen. Greg Dolezal (R-Cumming) to get both sides' views of Senate Bill 48, the Red Tape Roll Back bill.
