AUGUSTA — Maine lawmakers advanced a bill Monday that will require legislative committees to read and review the annual reports of the 24 quasi-state agencies that the committees are charged with overseeing.
The bill was developed by the Government Oversight Committee and the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability, the Legislature’s watchdog agency. In 2011, the office conducted a high-profile investigation into the dealings of the Maine Turnpike Authority, a $41.2 million quasi-state agency that had engaged in inappropriate spending and governance practices.
After the investigation of the turnpike authority, OPEGA and the oversight committee found that many quasi-state agencies failed to report their financial activities, including contract procurement and contributions to outside organizations, despite a reliance on state and federal taxes, grants or fees.
In 2012, the Legislature required more than two dozen agencies to file annual reports with the Legislature. However, OPEGA has since found that there’s no mechanism requiring lawmakers to actually scrutinize the reports. It also found that the reports are not actively reviewed by the committees charged with overseeing the quasi-state agencies.
In many cases, the reports appear on the legislative calendar and are accepted without debate or comment.
Sen. Chris Johnson, D-Somerville, told the State and Local Government Committee on Monday that the oversight panel is concerned that “agencies might spend effort in producing these reports only to have them sit on shelves in the Legislature.”
Ten of the quasi-state agencies are not subject to legislative budget review, meaning lawmakers do not review the expenditure of millions of dollars in public grants, fees or General Fund money used by entities such as the Maine Port Authority, the Workers’ Compensation Board or the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority, the agency overseeing the redevelopment of the former Navy base in Brunswick.
In its 2014 report to the Legislature, the Maine Port Authority did not provide details of its operating budget. Instead, the agency responsible for developing marine and rail facilities provided a list of organizations to which it paid membership dues. The Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority provided far more details in its 2014 annual report, including sources of revenue and an outline of its $10.4 million operating expenditures. However, the agency is not subject to a legislative budget review. It’s also unclear if lawmakers on the Labor, Commerce, Research and Economic Development Committee have thoroughly reviewed the agency’s annual report.
The bill, L.D. 1395, would make such a review mandatory for the committees with jurisdiction over the agencies. In addition to scrutinizing the annual reports, the committees would then send an overview of the annual reports to the Government Oversight Committee. The latter panel is charged with reviewing the operations of state government, and if necessary, authorizing investigations by OPEGA.
OPEGA has reviewed several quasi-state agencies over the past several years, including the Maine Turnpike Authority and the Maine State Housing Authority, both of which are included in the list of agencies that must now file annual reports with the Legislature. In March, the Government Oversight Committee authorized OPEGA to conduct an audit of the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority, the agency that operates the Amtrak Downeaster.
The State and Local Government Committee unanimously endorsed L.D. 1395 after a brief public hearing. The bill will now go to the full Legislature for floor votes.
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