(The Center Square) – In 2006, Florida voters amended the state’s constitution to create a Government Efficiency Task Force.

The 15-member group, chaired by the governor, includes the speaker of the House and other state leaders, and convenes every four years. It has recommended changes that would potentially save taxpayers billions of dollars.

A taxpayers group, Florida TaxWatch, this week called for a new state law, the Florida Government Efficiency Act that would require the governor to include efficiency and cost-reduction recommendations each year in the annual budget recommendation.

“Florida TaxWatch firmly believes that, if government efficiency is important enough to the taxpayers to be enshrined in our state constitution, then it should be important enough to the Legislature to be enshrined in Florida statutes,” Jeff Kottkamp, the group’s vice president and general counsel said in a statement.

Florida TaxWatch included the assessment in a report, Government Efficiency Is Not Something We Should Do Every Four Years.

It outlines the history of the constitutional amendment and some of the cost-savings that the Government Efficiency Task Force has recommended over the years.

It also praises second-term Republican Gov. Ron Desantis’ recent executive order creating Department of Government Efficiency teams within state agencies, mirroring a similar effort in the federal government.

“Florida has proven ideas, demonstrated wins, and active tools; now it needs permanence,” TaxWatch said in a statement. “By embedding efficiency into the annual budget cycle – backed by transparent tracking and regular reporting – the state can convert sporadic initiatives into sustained savings and better service delivery for taxpayers.”

The group notes, however, that recommendations issued every four years by the state’s Government Efficiency Tax Force have not always been followed.

Successes that led to documented savings include streamlining of business permits and an overhaul of the state’s internet technology.

“In total, 172 proposals have been identified across task force terms with estimated savings of $15.14 billion, but recent cycles have shown diminished scope and public tracking,” TaxWatch said.

The Florida Government Efficiency Act has the potential to be more effective, TaxWatch said.

It would require the Legislature to consider the governor’s efficiency recommendations each year as part of the budget process, “creating ongoing accountability rather than four-year burst,” Florida TaxWatch said.

(The Center Square) – A Federal Reserve governor accused of mortgage fraud filed a lawsuit Thursday alleging her firing was “unprecedented and illegal.”

Trump fired Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, appointed by President Joe Biden, on Monday after Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte alleged she committed mortgage fraud.

Pulte said Cook owns properties in Georgia and Michigan but had separately listed both as her “primary residence” on different mortgage agreements. A primary residence can mean lower mortgage rates. 

Cook hit back on Thursday with a lawsuit. She said the independence of the central bank was at risk.

“The operational independence of the Federal Reserve is vital to its ability to make sound economic decisions, free from the political pressures of an election cycle,” Cook’s attorney, Abbe David Lowell, wrote in the suit.

He said allegations of wrongdoing don’t meet the requirement for “cause” to terminate. 

“This case challenges President Trump’s unprecedented and illegal attempt to remove Governor Cook from her position which, if allowed to occur, would the first of its kind in the Board’s history,” Lowell wrote in the lawsuit. “It would subvert the Federal Reserve Act, which explicitly requires a showing of ’cause’ for a Governor’s removal, which an unsubstantiated allegation about private mortgage applications submitted by Governor Cook prior to her Senate confirmation is not.”

U.S. courts have never weighed in on what constitutes “for cause” when removing a Federal Reserve board of governors member because it hasn’t ever happened. 

Cook’s suit names Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and the board of governors as defendants.

The lawsuit comes amid Trump’s high-profile campaign to get the Federal Reserve to lower key interest rates. Trump has said the U.S. should have the lowest rates in the world, but the Federal Open Market Committee has taken a wait-and-see approach on rates over concerns about how Trump’s tariffs would affect the economy. 

Trump said he has the authority to fire Cook “for cause” and did so appropriately. 

On Monday evening, Trump posted a termination letter to Cook on his Truth Social account.

“The American people must be able to have full confidence in the honesty of the members entrusted with setting policy and overseeing the Federal Reserve,” the president wrote. “In light of your deceitful and potentially criminal conduct in a financial matter, they cannot and I do not have such confidence in your integrity.”

The Federal Reserve said it would abide by a court decision.

Last week, Powell hinted that the Fed may lower interest rates at its next meeting.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court indicated it might treat the Federal Reserve differently than other independent agencies.

The nation’s highest court said the president and the Federal Reserve’s relationship differed from other independent agencies.

“The Federal Reserve is a uniquely structured, quasi-private entity that follows in the distinct historical tradition of the First and Second Banks of the United States,” the high court wrote in an emergency ruling in May.

One of Wall Street’s top bankers also warned against a move on the Fed. 

“Playing around with the Fed could have adverse consequences, the absolute opposite of what you might be hoping for,” JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said during an earnings call. “It is important that they be independent.”

(The Center Square) – Three Southeastern states have launched a regional research project on automobile and battery production, hoping to further develop those industries in the region and create more jobs.

Mississippi-Alabama-Georgia Network for Evolving Transportation, colloquially to be known as MAGNET, was launched Wednesday.

“In 2023, our three states collectively built 1.9 million cars – further establishing us as national leaders in auto manufacturing,” Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said. “With virtually every auto manufacturer across the globe actively electrifying their fleets, we must position ourselves at the forefront of this transformation.”

The project will be headquartered at the University of Alabama. The partnership includes the University of Georgia and Mississippi State University and power companies in all three states.

“As the auto industry continues to evolve, it will be important for us to adapt and tackle the opportunities and challenges created by this emerging industry,” Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said in a statement. “This partnership will play a key role in positioning our states to meet those challenges and maintain our region’s position as the best place to manufacture automobiles.”

The project is one of 29 semifinalists in a National Science Foundation Regional Innovative Engines competition, according to a release. That program was launched to encourage regional collaboration in research and technology development.

Winners of the competition are eligible for up to $160 million in federal research funding. The awards are expected to be announced later this year and depend on Congress appropriating the funds, according to the National Science Foundation website.

“Companies across the world are investing billions of dollars into their electric fleets, and we need to be able to make the case that those vehicles should be built here,” Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said in a statement. “By bringing together the collective resources and assets of our three states, this partnership will put us at the front of the pack nationally when it comes to innovation in the EV space. This forward-thinking approach will mean jobs and opportunity for countless Mississippi families.”