New audit law will see whether government agencies are keeping their promises
John Barnes
is a research analyst with the Washington Policy Center.
Last year, while doctors and lawyers sparred over medical liability reform, citizens and interest groups battled over the gas tax hike, and the anti-smoking crusade carried its fight indoors, a little-publicized initiative made its way to the ballot. Supporters of Initiative 900 wanted a way to see whether government agencies are keeping their promises. It was about accountability, and I-900 passed with 56 percent of the vote.
For the first time in state history, it is legal for the State Auditor to evaluate the performance of government programs and recommend effective savings and reforms.
State Auditor Brian Sonntag is using his new authority to measure government performance. These are not mere financial audits, but thorough evaluations of whether and how government is keeping its promises to citizens, including a look at how other states run similar agencies and programs. In mid-April Sonntag released a progress report outlining the program’s objectives and listing the agencies that will be audited first.
The Department of Transportation tops the list. One of the largest and most complex state agencies – employing thousands and contracting with hundreds of firms across the state – in the past legislators have shielded it from efforts to independently evaluate its performance. To secure GOP votes and political cover for raising the gas tax last year, legislators appropriated funds for DOT audits. Thanks to that and I-900’s passage, the DOT will finally get an independent audit.
The massive K-12 education bureaucracy, consuming nearly half the state budget, is next on the list. Health care spending, including the Department of Social and Health Services, the Department of Health and the Health Care Authority, will follow. All of these areas present innumerable opportunities for greater efficiency and effectiveness.
The Auditor will also scrutinize funds and programs within agencies, such as unemployment and workers’ compensation. Because of their cost and reach to so many people, the potential for savings and streamlining is great. And let’s face it, more than a few of us have heard stories of fraud and waste here.
I-900 allows the Auditor to examine local governments as well.
The agencies to be audited are not part of a political "hit list." The list is based on the text of I-900: the largest and costliest government agencies come first. It is also based on feedback from concerned citizens and business owners, which Sonntag’s office has solicited repeatedly (and still does, at www.sao.wa.gov/performanceaudit).
In 2005, the loudest yelps against I-900 came from local governments and labor unions. Not surprising. The former are now subject to audits and the latter benefit most from wasteful government spending. As the saying goes, it’s the angler with a cooler full of fish who’s first to oppose more game wardens.
The Auditor’s report reveals what common sense knew all along: this is going to be an open and constructive process. Other states have saved billions of dollars from performance audits, and Washington is smart to follow the same course.
The process will work only if citizens and lawmakers pay attention and take it seriously. And the same holds true for representative government itself.
An in-depth study of Initiative 900, "Reviewing Government through Performance Audits: A Guide to Initiative 900," is available at www.washingtonpolicy.org or by calling 888-972-9272.
