PRESS RELEASE

May 10, 2004

EFF launches audit pledge campaign

Candidates and legislators asked to go "on the record" in support of accountability

OLYMPIA – The Evergreen Freedom Foundation (EFF) announces its Performance Audit Pledge campaign, a statewide effort asking legislators and candidates for the state legislature and governor to sign a promise to support comprehensive performance audits.

We are asking for responses by July 5, 2004, and we will publish the results prior to the election. Individuals who cannot support the pledge will be given 250 words to explain their position to voters.

In 2003, several performance audit-type bills were drafted, none of which used nationally recognized accounting standards and definitions for comprehensive performance audits. Each was vulnerable to political manipulation. None passed, and lawmakers seem reluctant to adopt a simple, clearly worded piece of legislation that would institute performance audits.

Yet in January 2005, legislators and a new governor will face deficits of at least one billion dollars. It could be more depending on which initiatives voters approve. Unless lawmakers plan on tax and fee increases to raise more revenue, they will have to find savings in current expenditures. Comprehensive performance audits can help identify necessary potential savings.

Similar performance audits in Texas have saved taxpayers over the past decade $9 billion out of $19 billion in identified savings.

EFF President Bob Williams stated: "Washington taxpayers deserve accountability for the money they provide to state agencies. Regular performance audits will help assure taxpayers that our legislators and our governor are trying to be good stewards of the peoples' money."

The best way to conduct a comprehensive performance audit is through the State Auditor's office, even if the Auditor then contracts with an independent firm to get the job done. But Washington state law makes this process almost impossible.

"Currently, Washington is the only state in the nation that prohibits the independently elected state auditor from doing the job he was hired to do," said Williams. "This handicap is costing the state untold millions — if not billions — of dollars in potential savings. The legislature's reluctance to grant the auditor full authority to do performance audits further erodes the taxpayers' trust in government."

All legislators have been sent a copy of the pledge and a return envelope. Copies have also been sent to state political parties for distribution to their candidates. A copy of the pledge may also be signed online at www.effwa.org/auditpledge.

The Evergreen Freedom Foundation is a non-partisan, public policy watchdog organization, focused on advancing individual liberty, a free-market economy, and limited and responsible government. The Foundation's membership includes members of all major political parties, united in the desire to ensure that taxpayer funds are spent wisely.

Contact: Booker Stallworth | 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