Legislation Assembly Democrats Gabriela Mosquera and Jamel Holley sponsored to ensure that both the executive and legislature branches are familiar with the steps government entities are taking to increase efficiency recently was advanced by an Assembly committee.
“The governor and the legislature determine how much of the taxpayers’ money goes toward certain government agencies,” said Mosquera (D-Camden/Mosquera). “The people of New Jersey deserve to know that these agencies are making the best use of their hard-earned money. It’s important that the executive and legislature branches are apprised of all the comptroller’s reviews and thus able to keep state entities accountable.”
The bill (A-1185) would require the Office of the State Comptroller, which is responsible for auditing government finances and examining the efficiency of government programs, to report the findings of audit compliance reviews to the governor and the legislature.
State law requires the Office of the State Comptroller to conduct random audits of the executive branch, including all entities exercising executive branch authority, public institutions of higher education, independent state authorities, units of local government and boards of education. The comptroller reports the findings of the audits and reviews to the governor, the Senate president and the Assembly speaker as well as the entity, and issues recommendations for corrective or remedial action. The comptroller also monitors the implementation of those recommendations and conducts a subsequent review to determine whether there has been full implementation and continued compliance with those recommendations, but is not required to report the subsequent review findings to the governor and the legislature.
This bill would require the comptroller to report the review findings to the governor, the Senate president and the Assembly speaker within three years of the initial audit.
“New Jersey can maximize the efficiency of state agencies only if the individuals in a position to shape policies governing those agencies have the information they need to make good decisions,” said Holley (D-Union). “In the same way that legislative leaders receive reports on initial audits, they also should receive reports on subsequent reviews.”
The measure was advanced Thursday by the Assembly Budget Committee.