Valencia bill creating Office of
Inspector General directly targets corruption, waste
STATE HOUSE – Rep. Larry Valencia (D-Dist. 39, Richmond, Exeter,
Hopkinton) urged the House Finance Committee this week to consider legislation
that would establish the Office of the Inspector General as an independent way
to promote good government and reduce waste, fraud, mismanagement and
corruption.
For its small size, Representative
Valencia said Rhode Island has seen more than its fair share of corrupt
government practices. He pointed to the 2009 audit of the Rhode Island Resource
Recovery Corporation, which revealed losses of $75 million due to mismanagement
in the state’s trash agency. However, the financial loss was not revealed until
it was too late to prosecute anyone.
The inspector general
would be appointed by a majority vote of the governor, attorney general and
general treasurer for a five-year term and would be selected without regard for
political affiliation.
This individual, who would be in charge of conducting
investigations involving public expenditures, would need a demonstrated ability
in accounting, auditing, financial analysis, law, management analysis, public
administration, investigation or criminal justice administration.
Similar bills creating the Office of
the Inspector General have been introduced since 2001 as an effort to increase
the transparency of state government and keep a watchful eye on taxpayer money.
“Let’s reduce the influence of money
and special interest in government,” Representative Valencia said. “State
officials and agencies should be held accountable for their actions, and
taxpayers should be comfortably assured that their tax dollars are not being
wasted.”
The proposed bill is modeled after a
section of the general laws of Massachusetts, which established the Office of
the Inspector General in 1981. This office led to the discovery of more than
$400 million in overrun costs related to the Big Dig construction project.
Since then, at least 27 other states have established such offices and have
experienced savings and monetary recoveries that greatly outweigh the cost of
maintaining the office.
Representative Valencia said his
legislation falls in line with several bills introduced to promote good
government practices, including the elimination of the master lever and the
reinstatement of the authority of the Ethics Commission over legislators.
Cosponsors of the House bill include
Representatives Edith H. Ajello (D-Dist. 1, Providence), Michael J. Marcello
(D-Dist. 41, Scituate, Cranston), Christopher R. Blazejewski (D-Dist. 2,
Providence) and Donna M. Walsh (D-Dist. 36, Charlestown, New Shoreham, South
Kingstown, Westerly). Senators Leonidas P. Raptakis (D-Dist. 33, Coventry, East
Greenwich, West Greenwich) and Catherine Cool Rumsey (D-Dist. 34, Exeter,
Hopkinton, Charlestown, Richmond, West Greenwich) sponsor companion bills (2014-S
2068, 2014-S
2346) in the Senate.