Senate Oversight Committee pauses review of Commission on Higher Education for one year

The Senate Legislative Oversight Committee voted Thursday morning to pause its active oversight review of the Commission on Higher Education for one calendar year, allowing the agency time to continue implementing changes prompted by earlier reports.

Committee staff recommended the pause after recounting findings from the Office of the Inspector General and a subsequent House Oversight review, and after describing steps the commission has taken to address weaknesses in forecasting, auditing and internal operations. The committee approved the staff recommendation by voice vote; members in the transcript responded “aye” and the chair declared, “Ayes have it.”

The recommendation followed staff summaries of the inspector general’s finding that incomplete audits and a flawed projection model hindered the commission’s ability to forecast lottery scholarship needs, which contributed to the accumulation of more…