Gov. Kim Reynolds joined by Emily Schmitt, general counsel for Sukup Manufacturing Co. as she signed an executive order establishing a state DOGE task force Feb. 10, 2025 with Schmitt at the head of the initiative. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
The Iowa DOGE task force has submitted a list of recommendations to Gov. Kim Reynolds on how to make Iowa’s state and local government more efficient, including suggestions to change the Iowa Public Employees’ Retirement System, and teachers’ compensation.
The task force, modeled after the federal Department of Government Efficiency program formerly led by billionaire Elon Musk in the Trump administration, was created in February 2025. The group of business leaders on the task force, led by Emily Schmitt, general counsel for Sukup Manufacturing Co., were tasked with submitting a report to Reynolds and state lawmakers on how to improve government efficiency in Iowa. The report was due Monday, as the body was given a 180-day timeline from their first public meeting to finalize recommendations.
The governor’s office confirmed Wednesday the report has been submitted. However, the final recommendations made by the DOGE task force are not yet publicly available. A spokesperson for the governor’s office said in an email Reynolds is now reviewing the report, and that it will be made public soon after the governor completes her review.
Though the report has not yet been published, task force members presented their planned recommendations during meetings in August and September. Some of the most high-profile recommendations included the suggestion of tying extra compensation for K-12 public school teacher and administrators to student achievement benchmarks, as well as IPERS changes for all public employees.
At the September meeting, Terry Lutz, chairman of McClure Engineering Co. and former mayor of Fort Dodge, said his comments on the school staff “pay-for-performance” model had been misrepresented by opponents and some reports as taking away teacher pay. He said the proposal suggests raising teacher pay by up to 10% of base pay through bonuses for educators based on student outcomes.
There was also significant pushback to the task force’s proposal on moving from a defined benefits program to a defined contribution program for future employees that was introduced at an earlier meeting. Lutz said in September the recommendation was updated to suggest the state conducts an ongoing study on public employees’ benefits, including consideration of the viability of a defined contribution plan for the state, where both the employee and employer contributes to a retirement benefit plan. If the state determines this changed system could be implemented, the task force said it would recommend “giving employees a choice” to stay on IPERS or join a defined contribution plan.
This recommendation has been criticized by many public sector worker organizations, who say the changes discussed by the task force could make IPERS insolvent. Several state lawmakers, including many Republicans, have said they are unlikely to consider changes to IPERS brought up by the task force.
The DOGE task force’s submitted recommendations are not necessarily set to become law. It will be up to Reynolds and state lawmakers to decide whether they want to implement any of the proposed changes through legislation in future legislative sessions. Schmitt suggested Iowans contact the governor and their elected officials if they want to provide feedback on the proposals moving forward.
“It’s up to the elected officials and the governor to take these and put together what they think is right for Iowa and what’s right now,” Schmitt said at the September meeting.