Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Hb1116 Inspector General topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Senate committee reviews bill to create cabinet-level Department of Inspector General; members press for clarity on independence and powers
Summary
House Bill 1116 would combine the Medicaid Inspector General, the Arkansas Fair Housing Commission, and a DFA internal-audit unit into a cabinet-level Department of Inspector General; lawmakers pressed staff on subpoena authority, audit reporting, appointment and hiring lines, and whether positions or appropriations would change.
A Senate committee reviewed House Bill 1116, a transformation measure to create a cabinet-level Department of Inspector General by consolidating the Office of Medicaid Inspector General, the Arkansas Fair Housing Commission and an internal-audit unit from the Department of Finance and Administration.
Representative Andy Davis, presenting the bill, described the reorganization as a consolidation of existing oversight functions into one department. "This 1 puts together a new department of the inspector general," he said.
Senators focused most of their questions on statutory authorities and the office’s independence. Senator Sample asked whether the Medicaid inspector general had performed audits and pointed to language that appears to confer subpoena power and civil-settlement authority. Elizabeth Smith, introduced on the record as the Medicaid inspector general, responded, "We perform audits of Medicaid providers every year. We file a report that's required by statute, every fiscal year, and we file that by October 1 of every year." Smith offered to provide the report and said it is posted on the office website.
Committee members pressed staff on whether the bill preserves the Medicaid inspector general's independence while giving administrative oversight to a new secretary. Staff said the Medicaid inspector general would continue to be appointed by the governor and "serve at the will of the governor," but would report administratively to the department secretary for administrative functions; staff also agreed to change language requiring "approval" of hiring to language phrased as in "conjunction with" or "consultation with" to address concerns about hiring authority.
Lawmakers asked whether the reorganization creates additional positions or new appropriations. Staff said the number of positions does not change as a result of the bill but the measure creates one new appointment; the governor intends to fill that position initially with personnel already within the department and no new appropriation is proposed for that fill.
Members also asked the staff to confirm several drafting items — employment language, reporting lines for directors appointed by the governor, and whether duties transferred from a chief fiscal officer were appropriate for a consolidated inspector general department. Staff said they are tracking requested changes in a spreadsheet and will adjust statutory language as needed.
No formal committee vote on House Bill 1116 was recorded in the transcript; the committee moved on to other bills after the discussion. The Medicaid inspector general offered to provide the committee with copies of its required annual report for review.
