By Craig Anderson

DOVER — Legislation to create an Office of State Inspector General was filed last week and awaits consideration by the House of Representatives’ Administration Committee.

If established, an inspector general “would be charged with investigating complaints of waste, fraud, abuse or corruption regarding state employees or state executive branch agencies,” according to a synopsis of House Bill 370.

Rep. Mike Smith of Pike Creek, is sponsoring the bill, joined by co-sponsors Reps. Tim Dukes of Laurel, Ron Gray of Selbyville and Danny Short of Seaford. Additional sponsors are Sen. Brian Pettyjohn of Georgetown and Rep. Mike Ramone of Newark. All are Republicans.

The bill will be evaluated by the Administration Committee, which will determine if it moves forward for consideration.

If it becomes law, Delaware’s governor would nominate a candidate for a five-year term, pending confirmation by the Senate.

HB 370 would also mandate the following:

• State agencies would be required to cooperate with any investigation conducted by the Office of State Inspector General, including full access to the personnel, records and premises under agency control.
• The inspector general would have subpoena powers and would employ police officers for the purpose of conducting potential criminal investigations.
• The office would be mandated to share general audit and investigation reports with the public, excluding only information protected by Delaware confidentiality laws or that might compromise an ongoing criminal investigation.
• Audits, investigations, inspections and reviews conducted by the inspector general would be subject to independent quality-assurance analyses every three years, with the results shared publicly.
• This law would become effective 180 days after it is enacted and upon appropriate funding.

According to House Minority Caucus spokesman Joe Fulgham, a time, date and agenda for the Administration Committee meeting will be posted in advance here. It will be open to the public to attend live or view via streaming, and a call-in line also will be available for those not attending in person.

If released from the Administration Committee, Mr. Fulgham said the bill would likely then be assigned to the House Appropriations Committee because establishing a state office would carry a cost exceeding $100,000.

If released from there, it would be placed on the Ready List, from which it could be selected for consideration by the full House and a vote on the floor, he said.

On Wednesday, Rep. John Kowalko, a Newark Democrat, said he expects to co-sponsor and file a separate bill to create an Office of the Inspector General “in the very near future.” Fellow Newark Democrat Dave Sokola is set to co-sponsor that legislation.