Legislation establishing Office of the Inspector General passes in Senate

DOVER, Del. – The First State could soon have a new watch dog after lawmakers in the State Senate unanimously passed a bill.

If enacted, Senate Bill 4 would create the Office of the Inspector General.

The position will be a non-partisan independent office that will serve as a watchdog agency.

The Office of the Inspector General would help recover misspent or inappropriately paid funds.

One goal of the agency is building greater public trust in government operations.

“Personally, I think it is really a compliment to the Auditor’s Office, the Department of Justice, I think it will be a great office to investigate fraud, waste, mismanagement views across state agencies and really give people in Delaware the transparency they are looking for,” said Rep. Cyndie Romer.

The Inspector General will not be an elected position.

Instead – the Governor would select one of three nominees provided by a selection panel.

That nominee would be submitted to the Senate for confirmation.

Once confirmed by the Senate, the Inspector General will serve one 5-year term.

“I really do think that long-term, I think this is a great step forward to make sure that we establish this office, but it really is going to be on the General Assembly to ensure that we fund it properly, one person alone is not going to be able to do the investigation, we really need to supply them with a budget so they can either hire staff internally or contract out,” said Rep. Romer.

Republicans issued us a statement saying, “The proposal to create an Office of the Inspector General in Delaware was initially pitched by House and Senate Republicans. Over the years, it has gradually become a bipartisan measure. Our people generally support this effort to make Delaware’s state government more transparent and accountable.”

The bill now heads to the House for consideration.