Eighteen years after its first introduction in the General Assembly, a bill to establish an Office of the Inspector General passes the Delaware Senate.
A bill to create an Inspector General’s Office first entered the state legislature in 2007 and has been reintroduced repeatedly since, only to stall each time.
State Sen. Laura Sturgeon (D-Woodbrook) introduced the bill last year, and although it cleared the Senate Finance Committee, it never made it to the floor for a full vote.
This time around, it received unanimous bipartisan approval from senators present.
The independent, non-partisan Office of the Inspector General (OIG) would investigate potential fraud, waste, mismanagement, corruption and other abuse of governmental resources.
“It is a step to ensure taxpayer funded resources are being managed wisely. It is the value of providing confidence that our state is taking every necessary step to ensure that taxpayer funded resources are being managed wisely and taxpayer dollars are being spent as intended," Sen. Sturgeon said.
She explains the office will share oversight responsibilities with the existing Delaware Department of Justice and the Auditor of Accounts.
"We see this as a strength, not a weakness or problem," Sen. Sturgeon said. "With the addition of this office to the toolbox of oversight tools, cases are less likely to fall through the cracks. Overlap creates greater accountability."
Thirty-five states and the District of Columbia have some form of an Inspector General's Office.
Under the bill, the position of Inspector General would not be elected — they would be selected through a process that requires a selection panel to provide three names to the governor for consideration. The governor will then select a nominee and submit the name to the State Senate for confirmation. Once confirmed, the inspector general would serve a term of 5 years.
The bill carries a $1.4 million annual fiscal note, but Sen. Sturgeon says the office has the potential to save the state far more money than it takes to operate and that its services will ultimately be invaluable.
“This office has the potential to save the state far more than it costs to do its work, and we're not talking about savings that we may see five to 10 years down the road, but savings we could see annually due to actual recovery of funds, efficiency recommendations and process improvements that can be implemented immediately," she said.
Gov. Matt Meyer campaigned on the creation of the office, although funding for it is not included in the governor’s recommended budget.
The state budget-writing Joint Finance Committee will meet for the next two weeks to determine which programs and services the state can fund in fiscal year 26.
JFC member and State Sen. Eric Buckson voted for the bill, but noted he can’t promise his support to fund it with looming state budget concerns.
Sen. Sturgeon is also a member of JFC.
