Senate committee reviews S.324 to create joint Government Oversight and Accountability Committee with subpoena power and grant‑review duties

At the Feb. 12 hearing, legislative counsel Tim Dunlend summarized S.324, an act to reorganize legislative oversight and create a permanent Joint Government Oversight and Accountability Committee.

Dunlend said the bill has six parts: a purpose and findings section, the creation of a permanent joint oversight committee, revisions to reporting lines for the chief performance officer and auditor, updated deadlines for recurring reports, and a review of state grant award procedures. "The purpose of this act is to actuate principles of government accountability by focusing on how evidence is used to inform policy," Dunlend said.

The bill would form an eight‑member committee — four House and four Senate members — with limits on party representation and two members‑at‑large. The chair would rotate biannually between House and Senate members; the committee would adopt its own rules and keep minutes. The proposal also gives the committee subpoena power, authority to administer oaths and to take depositions in connection with investigations.

S.324 defines "issues of significant public concern" by several criteria, including matters that affect the state as a whole, affect a vulnerable population, cost more than $100,000,000, represent a serious failure of oversight, or involve failures to respond to audits. Several senators said those thresholds are broad and risk duplicating other committee work; one member called the definition "very broad" and asked for refinement to focus the committee on accountability work rather than routine program review.

The bill would also require the Auditor of Accounts to provide the joint committee with a written summary of completed audits and, upon request, present findings to the committee. Dunlend and members discussed whether a summary is duplicative of audits posted publicly and emphasized wanting information on whether audits produced measurable changes in agency behavior.

Finally, the bill would move default recurring report submission deadlines to Nov. 15 so the legislature can review materials before a session and would direct a statewide review of grant administration, including recommendations to simplify grant processes and reduce delays in execution and payment. Committee members asked for additional background (original summer committee charge, prior reports, and NCSL presentations) and invited Senator Brock and other witnesses for a followup discussion; no vote occurred on Feb. 12.