Legislators should keep away from performance audit funds

Commenting on a tour of school children at the capitol on Monday, Seattle Times reporter Joe O'Sullivan tweeted:

"Docent explaining executive branch to school children: 'I would say we have a state auditor - and we usually do.'"

This qualifier is very troubling for several reasons but especially with both the most recent House and Senate budget proposals continuing to raid the voter-approved dedicated I-900 performance audit funds for the State Auditor.

The House budget transfers $6 million from the performance audit account for general spending. The Senate budget appropriates nearly $11 million of the dedicated funds to be spent by other agencies.

Both the House and Senate budgets also include this proviso:

"In addition, during the 2015-2017 fiscal biennium, the legislature may transfer from the performance audits of government account to the state general fund such amounts as reflect the excess fund balance of the fund."

No stranger to fighting these budget attacks on the performance audits funds, former State Auditor Brian Sonntag (also WPC board member) told me:

"To cut the program with a history of real savings and identifying efficiencies is certainly short sighted. Citizens have been rewarded with a significant return on their investment in performance audits."

With Troy Kelley on an indefinite leave of absence as he prepares for his January 2016 trial for several federal indictments, acting State Auditor Jan Jutte is coming to the defense of the I-900 performance audits funds. Jutte wrote this week to Sen. Hill saying (in-part):

"We also reiterate our concerns from previous years about the appropriation of the voter-approved Performance Audit of Government Account to other agencies, as well as the language that allows for the sweep of the excess fund balance."

Staff from the State Auditor's Office also plans to meet with House budget writers today and will send the Governor a letter later this week reinforcing the need to protect the dedicated I-900 performance audit funds.

There is never a good time to raid the dedicated I-900 performance audit funds. This is especially true with more than $3.2 billion (9.2%) in revenue growth already forecasted for the 2015-17 budget.

Jason Mercier is the director for the Center of Government Reform of the Washington Policy Center.