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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Auditor General Eugene DePasquale has outlined his major audit initiatives and special reports for 2018 that he believes will improve accountability and transparency.</p><p>&#8220;In the past five years, my audits have touched the lives of every single Pennsylvanian and identified more than half a billion dollars in misspent or potentially recoverable state funds,&#8221; DePasquale said in a news release.</p><p>Just last month, DePasquale said the audit of the Red Lion School District found the district is owed $456,211 in transportation funding from the state Department of Education.</p><p>&#8220;That half a million dollars means a lot to students, teachers and taxpayers,&#8221; DePasquale said.</p><p>His office does thousands of audits like that each year, DePasquale said.</p><p>Despite a 7 percent cut to his budget &#8212; he said it&#8217;s the largest cut of auditors in all 50 states &#8212; and having the agency&#8217;s lowest number of employees in over 50 years, he says his team is prepared to tackle the full agenda he has set for this year.</p><p>In the coming months, DePasquale will announce the results of major performance audits that include PennDOT, the state&#8217;s workforce development system, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, various aspects of the Department of State&#8217;s voter registry to ensure integrity of the commonwealth voting system, and the Pennsylvania Game Commission.</p><p>&#8220;Meanwhile, billions of dollars in state spending by the General Assembly and municipal authorities are exempt from independent audit oversight,&#8221; DePasquale said. &#8220;And I have always been clear about this &#8212; no taxpayer money should be used to pay settlements for sexual harassment complaints against elected officials.&#8221;</p><p>DePasquale said his team is preparing to review sexual harassment policies in the executive branch while awaiting a response from the General Assembly.</p><p>&#8220;I realize that some legislators may not welcome a full-on audit of legislative accounts,&#8221; DePasquale said. &#8220;I am willing to conduct an audit limited to reviewing the various sexual harassment policies and settlement payouts.&#8221;</p><p><strong>Pushing for legal pot</strong></p><p>In April, DePasquale sent a letter to legislative leaders offering his office&#8217;s audit services to review legislative accounts. Rep. Bob Freeman and a bipartisan group of legislators introduced and sponsored legislation (House Bill 1257) to authorize the Department of the Auditor General to audit the General Assembly and legislative agencies. But HB 1257 has been stuck in the Finance Committee since April 20.</p><p>Meanwhile, DePasquale said he is sending a letter to legislators this week to encourage support for Senate Bill 597. It would allow the Auditor General to audit municipal authorities, closing a major gap in accountability and transparency in municipal water, parking and sewer authorities.</p><p>DePasquale also has some ideas on marijuana. He believes it could help provide a dependable revenue stream if it becomes legal.</p><p>&#8220;That is one of the reasons why I will continue to push for Pennsylvania to regulate and tax marijuana,&#8221; he said. &#8220;There is no reason we should not benefit from a booming industry expected nationally to be worth more than $20 billion and employ more than 280,000 people in the next decade.&#8221;</p><p>DePasquale posts all audit reports, along with his travel expenses and the agency&#8217;s monthly expenses, online at: www.PaAuditor.gov.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">State Auditor General Eugene DePasquale </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/web1_TTL092717children2-1-1-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>State Auditor General Eugene DePasquale </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Bill O&#8217;Boyle</p><p>boboyle@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Bill O&#8217;Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

AG outlines plans to improve accountability, transparency in government