State Sen. Doug Mastriano is pictured during a recent state Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing.

State Sen. Doug Mastriano wants to create a state version of the Department of Government Efficiency. .

According to a co-sponsorship memorandum filed recently, Mastriano wants the state Legislature to approve yet-to-be drafted legislation that will create a state department with the power to audit every agency in the commonwealth, to suspend payments from agencies or departments that are deemed inefficient or unnecessary and dissolve agencies and departments.

“In an effort to promote fiscal accountability and curb wasteful spending in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, I am proud to introduce legislation aimed at establishing a Pennsylvania Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.),” Mastriano wrote in his co-sponsorship memorandum. “This initiative seeks to ensure that taxpayer funds are utilized effectively and responsibly.”

Mastriano’s bill is more likely to gain support in the state Senate than in the state House of Representatives, and it’s unlikely it would be signed into law by Gov. Josh Shapiro in the unlikely event it is approved by both houses of the state Legislature.

Mastriano’s version of D.O.G.E would be required to provide a detailed report to a Bipartisan Oversight Committee addressing the reasons for defunding an agency, program or initiative. The committee would include one House and Senate member from each party, along with one leadership member from both the House and Senate along with a representative of the Treasury and Auditor General’s offices. The committee would hold the authority to vote on reports submitted by the state’s D.O.G.E. determining whether to suspend or keep funding. The committee is also to include two citizens.

Once a final vote is determined, any payments deemed unnecessary will be suspended immediately and any “unspent” funds would be returned to the state’s General Fund.

“Through the establishment of PA. D.O.G.E., we will endeavor to foster a more efficient government that serves the interests of the citizens of Pennsylvania,” Mastriano wrote. “This initiative is a vital step in ensuring that every dollar spent is a dollar well-invested in the future of our state.”

According to the Associated Press, thousands of federal government employees have been shown the door in the first month of President Donald Trump’s administration as the White House and its Department of Government Efficiency fire both new and career workers, tell agency leaders to plan for “large-scale reductions in force” and freeze trillions of dollars in federal grant funds. Among the agencies that have been affected are the Allegheny National Forest.

Staff cuts came in the form of a deferred resignation’ proposal for federal workers that was taken by about 75,000 federal employees, according to the Associated Press, layoffs of probationary employees who are generally on the job for less than a year and who have yet to gain civil service protection, which could affect as many as 220,000 federal workers.