Locke: "Hold us accountable" . . . if you can

Locke vetoes performance audits

Governor Locke signed the legislature’s two-year, $22.8 billion budget on Tuesday, June 26th, but vetoed all attempts to hold state government accountable for efficient spending of taxpayer money.

Locke vetoed a provision in a transportation funding bill (SB 5327) that would have outlined performance-based budgeting requirements for state transportation agencies.

The governor also vetoed a provision in the Senate budget bill (SB 6153) that called for allowing the State Auditor to conduct three performance audits of state agencies so lawmakers can decide if further audits are merited. Washington is the only state in the nation that does not allow its State Auditor to conduct performance audits.

Locke claims he vetoed the accountability measures because performance-based audit procedures are already in place. In reality, State Auditor Brian Sonntag – the people’s elected government watchdog – has his hands tied. Sonntag is not permitted to conduct any performance audits without the approval of both the legislature and the governor. As a result, comprehensive performance audits are rare.

The majority of the state’s 147 elected representatives have just called for performance-based audits in this budget, but Governor Locke says "No."

"Legislators wrote a budget that included more money and more accountability," said Bob Williams, president of the Olympia-based Evergreen Freedom Foundation. "The governor has taken the money and dropped the accountability."

Locke claims he will make the Department of Transportation as efficient as it can be. But, Williams notes, "Governor Locke can say anything he wants because he has made it impossible for citizens to check his work."

Contact: Marsha Richards, Communications Director, (360) 956-3482

Evergreen Freedom Foundation P.O. Box 552, Olympia, WA 98507 Phone: (360) 956-3482, Fax: (360) 352-1874 Email: effwa@effwa.org