Texas has a new state agency aimed squarely at shrinking the reach of government.
Created earlier this year through Senate Bill 14, the Texas Regulatory Efficiency Office is charged with identifying unnecessary regulations, reducing red tape, and setting best practices for how state agencies adopt rules and measure their costs.
Gov. Greg Abbott, who has characterized the new agency as the Texas DOGE, said the goal is to rein in the “administrative state” and make government more accountable to the public.
“Texans deserve a government that protects individual liberty and fosters economic opportunity,” Abbott said. “Through the Texas Regulatory Efficiency Office, we will cut red tape, streamline regulations, and put a check on the growth of the administrative state.”
On Wednesday, Abbott named Jerome Greener, an executive at the Texas Public Policy Foundation and former Americans for Prosperity state director, as TREO’s first leader.
“With a proven record of championing limited government and commonsense public policy, Jerome is an exceptional choice to lead TREO as it works to ease burdens on Texans and make government leaner, faster, and more accountable.”
In addition to reviewing and repealing ineffective rules, TREO is required to work with the Department of Information Resources and Secretary of State to build a user-friendly website allowing Texans to easily search state regulations by topic or industry.
The law also changed how courts review state rules, requiring judges to interpret legal disputes independently rather than deferring to agency interpretations.
Greener’s appointment gives the new office its starting point, as it aims to strip away regulatory burdens and hold state agencies in check.
