Legislative Audit Commission approves Catherine Tyson as deputy legislative auditor for special reviews

Legislative Audit Commission Chair Senator Rest on Tuesday asked the commission to approve Catherine Tyson as deputy legislative auditor for the Office of the Legislative Auditor’s Special Reviews Division.

Commission members said Tyson’s work converting a long-standing unit into a formal division and building its procedures justified the appointment.

The appointment matters because the legislature last session established the Special Reviews Division within the Office of the Legislative Auditor (OLA), giving the unit formal status to handle an increase in complaints and allegations sent to the office. Approving a deputy to lead that division puts a dedicated manager in place to implement the division’s policies and handle sensitive, nonpartisan oversight work.

Miss Randall, the office’s auditor, asked the commission for the appointment and described Tyson’s record leading the unit. Miss Randall said Tyson "has established all the policies and procedures and processes for this division so that it can handle incoming complaints and concerns objectively, consistently, and timely" and that Tyson "has recruited, hired, and trained professional staff" who have supported OLA’s nonpartisan mission. Randall also told members that, while director of the special reviews unit, Tyson "has overseen the completion of 8 special reviews or limited special reviews, handled more than 40 different inquiries, and then frankly, hundreds of preliminary assessments." Those figures were provided by the auditor during the appointment discussion.

Representative Hansen moved approval of the appointment. The commission approved the motion by voice vote, and the chair announced the appointment was approved. Auditor Randall later thanked the commission for the unanimous approval and congratulated Tyson.

Discussion versus formal action: Commissioners offered praise and asked procedural questions during the presentation (discussion). Representative Hansen made the formal motion to approve (formal action). The transcript and chair’s announcement show the motion passed by voice approval; no roll-call vote was requested and no individual recorded yea/nay tally was provided.

The commission did not reference any statute or ordinance as a legal requirement for this appointment during the discussion; the item was presented as an internal personnel approval for OLA’s new division. The commission’s action directs OLA to install Catherine Tyson as deputy legislative auditor of the Special Reviews Division and to proceed with the division’s work under her leadership.

Miss Tyson was present for the appointment and was congratulated by members after the vote.

The commission moved immediately from the appointment to the next agenda item: approving program-evaluation topics for 2025.