Legislative Priorities

Where transparency prevails in government

State Auditor Pat McCarthy is dedicated to shining a brighter light on government operations for the public. Under her leadership, SAO’s vision and mission is to increase trust in government through independent and transparent audits of state and local governments, and to help these governments develop strategies to become more efficient and effective.

“Government transparency and accountability are more important than ever in these challenging times. The State Auditor’s Office is committed to providing the independent reviews and investigations the public expects.” – Pat McCarthy. Here’s more about State Auditor Pat McCarthy.

High-interest Topics 

Frequently requested information about SAO work

• Cost-effective, timely audits help governments maintain their fiscal health
  Rating agencies such as Standard & Poor’s require governments to provide a recent audit by our Office to help them determine the government’s bond rating, which can impact the government’s financial posture and the services it may provide to the community. To emphasize how important collaboration and audit timeliness are to this process, we have put together a special report, “Three Perspectives: How Audit Timeliness Impacts Government Bond Ratings” (PDF), which provides insight from a city finance director, a bond underwriter to local governments, and an audit leader from our Office.
   
• Use of Deadly Force Investigation Audits
  The Office of the Washington State Auditor was the first state auditor’s office in the nation to systematically review every local investigation into police use of deadly force, as authorized by the Legislature in 2021. Since publishing our first audit in mid-2022, our team of experts has audited more than 50 use of deadly force investigations, and in December we released a report summarizing common areas of investigation noncompliance and our recommendations for improvement: Use of Deadly Force Investigation Audits: 2024 Year-End Report (PDF).
  
  We believe our reports will serve as a valuable resource for lawmakers, the Criminal Justice Training Commission, and the state’s independent investigation teams as they work to ensure police use of deadly force is investigated in a manner that maintains public trust and confidence.  
   
• Rural County Sales and Use Tax for Public Facilities Report FY 2023 (Excel, 58KB) 
  Members of the Legislature asked the State Auditor's Office to expand on how rural counties were using their local option sales tax designated for economic development projects. Working together with the Association of Washington Counties, SAO has implemented an annual report to give more specific and timely detail on these projects. You can find the most recent reports here on our website.
   
• Data analytics are helping lead the fight against fraud
  Fraud can be financially devastating to small towns, fire departments and other local governments, and our fraud-prevention team works hard to help protect public resources. Our data scientists, for example, have developed a tool that helps identify questionable transactions, leading to the discovery of a nearly $900,000 misappropriation at a state agency.
  
  We will continue to harness the power of our improving analytical tools, along with having our objective, professional auditors review government finances, to help root out fraud on behalf of Washingtonians. For a better understanding of how elected officials can help fight fraud, you can download our helpful guide, “Trust, but verify: A guide for elected officials & appointed boards to prevent fraud” (PDF).
   
• Measuring success: follow-up performance audits
  Created by Washington voters in 2005 with the passage of I-900, performance audits evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of government programs. Follow-up performance audits are designed to re-examine a government program to identify how findings from our initial work have been addressed and assess the implementation of our original recommendations. Examples include our follow-up audit of the state’s backlog of sexual assault kits, and our follow-up audit of Washington’s cannabis tracking system. 
   
• Financial Intelligence Tool (FIT)
  The State Auditor’s Office annually collects financial information from all local governments across the state. To present this valuable information in a transparent and available manner, SAO created the Financial Intelligence Tool (FIT) through its Center for Government Innovation. FIT is a very useful tool for policymakers and staff as it displays information by individual governments and government types, and allows users to parse the information by topic, spending or even the financial health of an entity. 
   
• Energy compliance examinations of public utilities
  To ensure Washington’s electricity supply is free of greenhouse gas emissions by 2045, state law requires public utilities to meet several goals and requires the Department of Commerce to develop rules, reporting requirements and regular assessments of progress. 
  
  Our Office is charged with auditing the utilities to make sure they are complying with the requirements of the Energy Independence Act (EIA) and the Clean Energy Transformation Act (CETA), including details on how these utilities are meeting the state’s long-term energy independence, clean energy and equity goals. Learn more and search our published Energy Compliance reports.

Legislation of Interest

Policy topics SAO is closely following

• HB 1934 (opens new tab) /  SB 5838 (new tab) – Establishing an artificial intelligence task force
  In the 2024 legislative session, SAO will be working with the Office of the Attorney General on their request legislation (SB 5838 / HB 1934) to establish an interagency task force to recommend policies and practices on the use of artificial intelligence and related technologies. 
   
• HB 2076 (new tab) – Related to addressing crimes involving human trafficking or sexual exploitation
  For the 2024 Legislative Session, SAO will work with the sponsors and jurisdictional committees to help implement this important bill. 

Legislative contact

Scott Nelson manages legislative, policy and tribal relations for the State Auditor's Office. Scott was raised in Spokane and schooled in Tacoma. His career in government includes being a member of the original staff of Congressman Norman D. Dicks; a stint as a national consultant; then owning his own firm before coming to work for Auditor McCarthy.

Scott Nelson, Director of Legislative and Policy Affairs scott.nelson@sao.wa.gov

To request an appointment with Scott Nelson, please contact Julian Kinder at julian.kinder@sao.wa.gov.