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Commission weighs contractor model, budget impact and limits on subpoena power for inspector general
Summary
Members debated whether the proposed inspector general should be a full‑time charter office or use contracted specialists, and several commissioners urged caution about granting broad subpoena power, asking staff to narrow the authority and define procedural checks.
Commissioners discussed staffing alternatives for a proposed inspector general office — a chartered, full‑time office with in-house staff versus a contract-based model that would let the commission scale expertise by project. Supporters of the contract model said it permits access to specialized investigators and auditors without long-term salary commitments; supporters of a full‑time office argued continuity, credibility and the ability to build institutional knowledge are important for sustained oversight.
Several commissioners singled out subpoena power as particularly consequential. One commissioner warned that broad subpoena authority could reach individual personal records and urged the commission to narrowly define subpoena types, include judicial or procedural checks, and consider administrative subpoena mechanisms used in federal inspector-general models. The commission endorsed narrowing both staffing and subpoena questions in the next draft and asked staff to identify budget implications of either approach.
