Senator raises transparency concerns over delayed public audits as sponsor advances bill, adds cosponsors

A senator raised concerns on the legislative floor about repeated delays in reports from the Office of the Public Auditor and the omission of the auditor's committee Q&A from the committee report, while the bill's sponsor, Senator Sijus Masi, added multiple cosponsors and moved the measure to the third-reading file.

The senator (name not specified) told the chamber the auditor's report is due June 30 but has repeatedly arrived too late to inform the legislature's budget work. "We really need it in July, no later if it's going to be of any use for us in our budget deliberations," the senator said, noting that the Office of the Public Auditor's (OPA) timeline for the fiscal year 2024 budget is now November.

The senator also criticized the committee report's summary of the public auditor's testimony. According to the chamber record cited on the floor, questions and discussion with the public auditor are logged as beginning at 17:14 and ending at 39:35 in the committee transcript, but the committee report digest does not include the auditor's oral answers. "I just feel like we are going down a slippery slope of reducing transparency," the senator said, arguing the committee report should show the questions and answers so legislators have the full information before voting.

Senator Sijus Masi, the bill sponsor, responded to floor comments and then proposed adding several colleagues as cosponsors. "Three times a charm," Masi said, adding that he hoped the measure would survive possible veto. He moved to add Senator Sabrina Salas Mantanani, Senator Will Parkinson (who had offered an amendment), Senator Shelley Cavill, Senator Tony Atta, Senator Trish Cholahi, Senator Sabina Perez, Senator Chris Barnett, Senator Sean Kumatawtow, Senator Jesse Luhan and the presiding officer as cosponsors.

The presiding officer asked for objections to the motion to add cosponsors; hearing none, he said, "No objections. So ordered." Masi then moved to send "bill 14-38 COR" down to the third-reading file; the presiding officer again asked for objections, heard none and ordered the motion carried.

The floor record captured the senator's concern that missing verbatim answers in committee digests creates room for bias or omission, especially when answers could affect how legislators evaluate measures tied to budget timing. The senator said the absence of those details "leaves out very crucial details that's not crucial to 1 person but very crucial to another."

No roll-call votes were recorded in the transcript excerpt; both procedural moves—the addition of cosponsors and the motion to send bill 14-38 COR to third reading—were advanced by voice and recorded as having "no objections." The presiding officer recessed the session until 9 a.m. the following day.

Background: The exchange on the chamber floor focused on process rather than the substance of the bill. The transcript excerpt shows the senator pressed for clearer committee reporting and earlier delivery of auditor materials so that the legislature's budget deliberations are informed on time. The bill sponsor proceeded with standard floor procedure by formally adding cosponsors and moving the measure toward third reading.