House Speaker Chris Blazejewski went Thursday where no Rhode Island legislative leader has gone before, putting the considerable power of his office behind creating a state Office of Inspector General.
During an afternoon availability in his third-floor office at the Statehouse, Blazejewski said he felt compelled to pursue a new approach because of the Trump administration.
“Cuts to Medicaid, to food assistance, to the federal programs helping those who are struggling – these changes mean our state will be asked to get by with far less federal support,” he said, “at the same time that federal oversight of how we spend every remaining dollar is tightening. The margin for error is far less than it has ever been before.”
The new speaker, a Providence Democrat, also invoked what he called high-profile failures involving state government.
“A major bridge in the heart of our state deteriorated past the point of safety,” he said. “Portions of a highway ramp collapsed onto active rail lines. A costly new state payroll system produced months of errors, wrong tax forms, and harm to our own state employees. None of these failures happened overnight, and all of these problems went unaddressed for far too long. Rhode Islanders deserve better.”
Republicans, independents and a few Democrats have for years called for an inspector general, a vital need to root out waste and fraud in Rhode Island’s ballooning state budget.
Blazejewski’s blessing for an inspector general – as his first legislative priority since becoming speaker last week, with plans for a bill to be introduced next Tuesday – means it is nearly certain to happen.
The speaker said his bill is modeled after the inspector general’s offices in several states, especially South Carolina and Delaware.
Qualifications for an IG “include a vast background in the fields of auditing and criminal justice, with a minimum of 10 years of professional experience in auditing, investigations, law enforcement or a related field.” Anyone occupying the post would be limited to two five-year terms.
According to Blazejewski, an advisory commission made up of the state attorney general, secretary of state, general treasurer, the Ethics Commission and a member of the Association of Inspector Generals would screen applicants. The governor would then make an appointment from a list of three candidates, with confirmation by the state Senate.
By wielding a bit of political jujitsu, Blazejewski wraps his nascent speakership in a good-government robe while diminishing the strength of the IG issue as a tactic for Republicans like John Loughlin, a candidate for lieutenant governor.
State Rep. Joe Shekarchi (D-Warwick), who passed the speakership off to Blazejewski in a rare mid-session handoff, was among those who have argued that an inspector general was not necessary. Opponents have pointed in part to the presence of a state auditor general (who serves at the pleasure of the legislature) and the office of internal audit (which is under the jurisdiction of the governor).
Critics say Rhode Island’s budget, which has grown from less than $9 billion to $15 billion over the last 10 years, is a good target for heightened efficiency and investigation.
“If we cannot accurately track how public funds are being spent, we cannot possibly expect the public to trust with our funds,” state Rep. George Nardone (R-Coventry) said during a news conference last year boosting a plan to create an inspector general.
Blazejewski, when he was a rank-and-file state representative, supported a version of an inspector general bill in 2015.
About a third of state spending in Rhode Island comes from federal funds. A relatively small percentage of the budget goes for discretionary uses, with most of it devoted to education, healthcare programs and human services.
At the same time, the state budgetary process can be opaque, despite months of public hearings, with influential lawmakers sometimes inserting pet spending items late in the game.
