Washington State House Democrats

February 2, 2005

OLYMPIA– Sensitive to public demands for reforms of government agencies and spending, the state House of Representatives has voted overwhelmingly to require independent performance audits of state government.

"Supporting independent performance audits is in fact good business, it’s good economics, it’s good politics, it’s good government," said state Rep. Larry Springer, D-Kirkland, a sponsor of the reform bill (House Bill 1064).

The legislation, which united lawmakers across party lines, requires annual performance audits of all state agencies and operations. The State Auditor and a Citizen Oversight Board would guide the audits, which could examine factors such as:

The measure also requires each state agency to "implement a quality management program to improve the quality, efficiency, and effectiveness of the public services it provides."

"People want to be proud of their government, and we owe them that pride," said Springer during the debate on final passage of the performance audit bill. "We have to earn it by bridging differences between political parties, like we are today. We need to show them that we hear what they are saying, and that we will respond to what they are saying, like we are today."

The measure now moves to the Senate for further consideration.

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