State Rep. George Nardone (R-Coventry) is spearheading the latest legislative effort to create an Office of Inspector General in Rhode Island, arguing that the state sorely needs an independent voice for accountability.
Speaking during a Statehouse news conference on Wednesday, Nardone said about 20 lawmakers — a mix of Democrats, Republicans, and the lone independent in the House of Representatives — have signed onto his bill.
“Taxpayers expect and deserve responsible stewardship of their money and transparency into the efficiency of government operations,” Nardone said. “If we cannot accurately track how public funds are being spent, we cannot possibly expect the public to trust with our funds.”
Rhode Island has two separate offices that scrutinize state spending, the Office of Internal Audit and the Office of Auditor General. The first operates as part of the executive branch of state government and the latter under the aegis of the General Assembly.
Nardone said his bill would establish the inspector general as an independent administrative agency charged with detecting and preventing fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement of public funds. It would also take on the responsibility of overseeing the two current auditing offices.
Democrats and Republicans have for years proposed creating an inspector general’s office, seeking to create locally something that exists to varying degrees in a number of other states. Nardone repeated some past arguments, saying that savings would more than pay for the roughly $1.5 million annual cost of operating the office.
The Coventry Republican said his bill includes some new elements, including making the selection of an inspector general based on a majority vote of the governor, attorney general and general treasurer.
The IG would serve up to two five-year terms.
Nardone noted that a 2024 poll by Salve Regina University showed broad support for establishing an office of inspector general.
“We spend more $14 billion on our state budget” — an illustration, he said, that “money isn’t the issue. It’s our core government efficiencies that need to be scrutinized.”
House GOP Leader Mike Chippendale (R-Foster) pointed to a report in the Providence Journal this week alleging “undue influence from the executive branch on legislators,” on a bid-rigging bill, as a recent example of the need for an inspector general.
The prospects for Nardone’s bill seem less than promising, however, given this statement from House Speaker Joe Shekarchi: “One of President Trump’s first actions in January was to fire 17 independent inspectors general at government agencies. If the President felt they were not needed, why are they necessary in our state?”
Referring to a former two-time candidate for governor, Shekarchi added, “Also, Ken Block and other pro-Constitutional Convention advocates cited the creation of an inspector general’s office as one of the top issues and organized a campaign, yet the voters in November overwhelmingly rejected the convention.”
Asked by a reporter about the IGs fired by Trump, Chippendale said the president fired them based on their performance.
