Louisiana House Bill 56 (2008)
From Sunshine Review
Contents |
[edit] Introduction
House Bill 56 creates the Office of Inspector General and provides for the appointment, term of office, removal, powers, duties, and functions of the inspector general. This is one of several pieces of legislation that was passed during the 2008 special session on transparency and ethics reform.
[edit] Purpose and Mission
The prevention and detection of waste, inefficiencies, mismanagement, misconduct, abuse, fraud, and corruption in all departments, offices, agencies, boards, commissions, task forces, authorities, and divisions of the executive branch of state government.
[edit] Terms of Service
The inspector general shall be appointed by the governor and confirmed by the senate. No person serving as inspector general may have in the past two years held political office, or office in any political party. No person shall become an elected official of government or any political party with four years of being the inspector general. Within one year of appointment, the inspector general must obtain certification from the Association of Inspector General. The inspector general shall serve for a term of 6 years. The salary of the inspector general will be set by the Governor and approved by the legislature. The salary of the inspector general will not increase or decrease during his term. The inspector general may be removed by the governor with a majority vote of the state House and Senate.
[edit] Authorities and Powers
The inspector general may examine all affairs of covered agencies (all agencies in the executive branch) in order to complete relevant investigations. This includes but is not limited to:
- Misuse of state-owned automobiles, planes, watercraft, and all other movable and immovable property.
- Evidence of a pattern of excessive bills on state contracts.
- Unauthorized use of leave.
- Mismanagement of governmental operations.
- Waste or abuse of things of value belonging to or used by the covered agencies.
The inspector general will review policies and procedures and make recommendations to decrease costs and increase efficiency of covered agencies. The inspector general will also receive complaints and investigate anything related to government waste, inefficiency, mismanagement, misconduct, abuse, fraud and corruption. The Inspector General will maintain a toll-free hotline and a web site for anonymous reporting for this function.
The inspector general will directly report the findings of his investigations to the Governor and or appropriate federal, state or local authorities when necessary.
The inspector general and any person in his office whom he delegates the authority to may obtain sworn statements.
The inspector general shall work on preventative measures such as reviewing legislation, regulations and transactions, providing training and education, and making suggestions to the governor and legislature.
The inspector general may conduct joint investigations with law enforcement agencies.
[edit] Access of Inspector General
All officers and employees of covered agencies shall extend full cooperation and all reasonable assistance to the inspector general.
The inspector general may call witnesses and issue subpoenas for information and documentation with the approval of a judge.
The inspector general shall have access to all records, information, data, reports, plans, projections, matters, contracts, memoranda, correspondence, and other similar documents of covered agencies.
[edit] Accountability
The inspector general will submit a yearly report to the governor and the joint legislative committee on the budget detailing the yearly accomplishments of the office in achieving its core mission.
Prior to releasing this report, the inspector general must give each agency covered a chance to respond to the report, unless a criminal procedure over that agency due to the findings is ongoing.
The inspector general and his employees must carry an identification card.
The inspector general shall adhere to all standards of the Association of Inspector General and will create an operations manual that is available to the public.
[edit] Confidentiality of Reports
All records obtained and prepared by the inspector general in conjunction with an investigation will be deemed confidential. All records that were confidential prior to the investigation will remain confidential. If the Inspector General or any of his employees make any confidential information pubic, he or she will be guilty of a misdemeanor offense punishable by up to 1 year in jail and a $2,000 fine. [1]
[edit] House Votes
- Yeas: 100
- Nays: 0
- Absent: 4
[edit] Senate Votes
- Yeas: 38
- Nays: 0
- Absent: 1
[edit] External links
- "Louisiana Law Searchable Database"
- "Louisiana Government Website"
- "Office of Inspector General Website'
- "Association of Inspectors General"
