A Missouri House committee tasked with looking at ways to downsize state government has sent a memo containing recommendations to House Speaker Tim Jones (R, Eureka). Committee chairman Paul Curtman (R, Pacific) says his primary recommendation is to give the State Auditor's office the authority to conduct comparative audits.
"The state of Washington gave their Auditor authorization to conduct comparative audits," Curtman said. "They've been able to realize about a billion dollars' worth of saving over the last five years once they implemented the Auditor's recommendations."
Legislation would need to be passed in order for State Auditor Tom Schweich (R) to be able to conduct comparative audits.
"If there's one agency or bureaucracy that's doing something that's very cost efficient and saving taxpayer dollars, we also want to make sure that other agencies or bureaucracies also are applying the same methods," Curtman said.
Other recommendations include examining the way Missouri's fleet of state-owned vehicles is managed and looking at the bidding process for state contracts. The 2014 legislative session begins in just over two months.
Follow Marshall Griffin on Twitter: @MarshallGReport
