Democrat Budget Plan would Eliminate OPEGA

Democrats on the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee included a controversial measure in their majority budget plan to close the Legislature’s Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability (OPEGA). The maneuver will book nearly $1.2 million in savings in the current biennium. Republicans on the committee issued a separate budget document that does not include the OPEGA cut. OPEGA is a nonpartisan office that conducts reviews and audits of programs and agencies within state government that use public funds. The agency is overseen by a committee that is comprised of an equal number of Democrats and Republicans. OPEGA has issued nearly a dozen reports and is currently undertaking a review of the state’s Department of Health and Human Services. OPEGA uncovered $167,806 of misused funds and possible fraud during one of its reviews. The case is now pending in front of the Attorney General’s office. Another report reviewed the state’s economic development programs which cost taxpayers over $200 million. Their report showed that these programs lack oversight and are oftentimes duplicative. They estimate that their reports have suggested over $2.1 million in annual savings. email from Representative Cotta 3/26/08