Gov. Jared Polis cuts through executive orders — wielding a circular saw on his desk

Gov. Jared Polis took a buzzsaw to hundreds of outdated and obsolete executive orders on Thursday — literally.

Polis sawed through more than 200 executive orders, which stretched back decades and through multiple administrations, before issuing a new formal executive order to rescind them. He joked that it was the first time in state history that a power saw sat on the governor’s desk.

“We’re getting rid of 435 pages (that are) redundant, unneeded, add paperwork — outdated for many different reasons,” Polis told reporters gathered in his office.

Some examples: A 1957 order referring to tax collections for the Colorado State Hospital; a 1978 order that all state contracts should be signed by then-Gov. Richard D. Lamm; and a 2010 order establishing a Sustainable Colorado Main Streets initiative.

The oldest rescinded order came from 1920, when then-Gov. Oliver H. Shoup issued an executive order “Directing Adjutant General to maintain peace and good order.”

Polis said he directed his team to begin reviewing executive orders six months ago to find unnecessary ones. While Thursday’s action did not correlate to cost savings — the legislature directs state spending — the effort aimed to remove old orders that nonetheless carried the force of law.

Records of the orders will remain in the state archives. Polis also commissioned artist Joe Molina to create a piece from the old orders to commemorate the effort to cut government waste.

Polis’ push preceded the pitch from billionaire Elon Musk to create a “Department of Government Efficiency” to suss out potential federal cuts. President-elect Donald Trump said he would task Musk, who spent more than $275 million to help elect Trump, with co-chairing the effort.

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