A bill that would make West Virginia’s legislative auditor beholden to political leaders is one of the worst ideas the Legislature has come up with while under control of a GOP supermajority in both chambers.
Senate Bill 687 would make the critical position charged with auditing the state budget and government spending units, reporting misapplication of state funds — and making recommendations on their findings — subject to the direction of the House speaker and Senate president. The bill passed the Senate last week and is now parked in the House Government Organization Committee.
The bill also weakens the standards in place for audits. One of the bill’s proponents in the Senate said those higher standards could still be used, it just wouldn’t be required. That’s not reassuring.
This seems like an effort to further occlude the financial consequences of legislative actions from other government agencies and the public. Gazette-Mail columnist Phil Kabler noted the irony here, given that Republicans for years have run on government transparency and fiscal responsibility. The GOP has been in control of the Legislature since 2014 and, over that span, party leaders have almost entirely dispensed with the quaint notions that put them in control.
Indeed, the Senate under the leadership of President Craig Blair, R-Berkeley, has on multiple occasions suspended normal legislative rules and practices to ram legislation through with almost no expert or public analysis or input. When the House and Senate passed a near-total abortion ban, it was done through a hastily called special session and with the Capitol’s galleries cleared of protesters and public spectators.
The policy was crafted with no testimony from obstetricians, despite more than a few offering to give their insight on the matter.
If they could do something that dystopian with their eyes and ears covered, it’s almost surprising legislative leaders haven’t thought to neuter the legislative auditor sooner.
But while the supermajority is on this mad bender of breaking norms, punishing constituents and removing accountability, they’re not stopping to think that a pendulum swings in more than one direction.
Right now, it’s inconceivable that the Democratic Party would have a majority in either chamber or control any statewide offices. That was the boat the Republican Party in West Virginia was in for decades.
Current lawmakers are showing no restraint, because they can’t imagine a day when they’re not calling the shots. And maybe that day won’t come for a long time, but it will come. It always does, no matter who is in charge. And all of these things the GOP has done to entrench power and remove accountability will be at the disposal of their opponents.
Responsible governance is important beyond its own sake. Making these types of changes doesn’t just affect this Legislature, but everyone going forward. It’s something GOP leaders might want to take a moment and ponder, but, right now, they’re too drunk on their own power and seeming invincibility.
