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President Trump, Elon Musk, and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are uncovering massive amounts of waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayer dollars at the federal level — but what about at the state level? State legislator Carl DeMaio aims to bring DOGE to California to do just that.
CA State Rep. Carl DeMaio, Chairman of Reform California, is introducing a plan to improve state efficiency in the spirit of DOGE.
DeMaio says that state legislators can already do this in two key ways:
DeMaio says these tools alone are not enough. That’s why DeMaio and Reform California are planning to conduct independent audits to shine a light on how taxpayer dollars are misused across California.
“Like cockroaches running in a greasy kitchen, California Democrats are trying to hide the waste, fraud, and abuse in our government,” says DeMaio. “We know we’re going to find outrageous spending and corruption – and Reform California is ready to investigate and expose it!”
DeMaio says the audits will be an outside watchdog effort because Democrat politicians in Sacramento refuse to conduct real oversight.
“We know state agencies will fight to withhold information, but we will use independent investigators and forensic accountants to dig into government budgets and expose the corruption,” says DeMaio.
Reform California is focusing on five major areas of government waste and fraud as part of the DOGE effort:
DeMaio says the California government is running a “Millionaires Club” of public employees raking in massive salaries and benefits without accountability.
“Government employees are earning far more than private-sector workers in similar roles, and many don’t even have performance evaluations,” says DeMaio.
According to Transparent California, many state employees earn salaries well over half a million dollars. Even the liberal Sacramento Bee recently exposed that the number of California state workers making over $1 million is rapidly growing.
“Just look at San Diego: the Chief Operating Officer makes $604,000, an investment officer makes $588,000, and even an administrative aide is pulling in over $563,000. These salaries are outrageous,” says DeMaio. “We need to bring accountability back to the bureaucracy!”
California state and local governments are funneling millions of dollars to far-left organizations engaged in political activism, according to DeMaio.
“We’re seeing taxpayer money go to groups funding pro-Hamas protests on college campuses, radical race-based activism, and even Planned Parenthood advocacy programs targeting elementary school students,” says DeMaio.
The Transparency Foundation recently uncovered $6.6 million in taxpayer funds given to left-wing groups in San Diego County alone. These groups, DeMaio says, are engaged in political lobbying, ballot harvesting, and other activities that have nothing to do with legitimate public services.
“We’re following the money. Every dollar that goes to political operatives instead of fixing roads and fighting crime is a dollar stolen from taxpayers,” says DeMaio.
One of the most shocking findings so far? Billions of dollars in taxpayer-funded benefits are being given to illegal immigrants.
“Two weeks ago in a budget hearing, I exposed $10 billion in free healthcare handouts to illegal immigrants,” says DeMaio. “That’s 23% of every general fund Medi-Cal dollar spent last year going to people who are not even supposed to be here!”
DeMaio says this figure doesn’t even include additional taxpayer-funded benefits such as legal defense, housing, travel stipends, and direct welfare payments to illegal immigrants.
“Meanwhile, hardworking families are struggling to afford their own healthcare premiums. It’s absolutely insane,” says DeMaio.
California taxpayers are being fleeced by corrupt contract awards to politically connected firms, according to DeMaio.
“The high-speed rail project is the biggest grift of all time,” says DeMaio. “Billions have been spent, and the train will never get built. But the politically connected developers and contractors are getting rich off taxpayers!”
DeMaio also highlights “Project Labor Agreements,” which require state and local contracts to be awarded only to union firms, driving up costs by as much as 50%.
“This is a taxpayer-funded kickback scheme,” says DeMaio. “Union bosses funnel money into Democrat campaigns, then Democrat politicians mandate union-only contracts – it’s a racket!”
One of the most deceptive ways California politicians steal from taxpayers is by adding hidden taxes and fees onto basic necessities, says DeMaio.
“They slap hidden charges on water bills, electricity bills, gas appliances – you name it,” says DeMaio. “The Transparency Foundation found $4.5 billion in hidden taxes added to utility bills alone, driving up costs for families by 14%. And these weren’t even voted on by the public!”
DeMaio warns that unless these illegal taxes are stopped, Sacramento politicians will continue to find new ways to secretly take money from taxpayers without their consent.
DeMaio says the DOGE CA effort will rely on grassroots support to investigate and expose government corruption.
“We don’t have control of the governor’s mansion, and we’re not the majority in the State Legislature, but we will use my office and Reform California to shine a light on wasteful spending and corruption,” says DeMaio.
Reform California is calling on whistleblowers, citizen watchdogs, and concerned taxpayers to help in the fight by:
“We need to research, investigate, audit, expose, and educate voters so they can vote for change,” says DeMaio. “If we don’t hold California politicians accountable, no one will!”
