Committee advances bill to create Board of Education audit office with questions about independence and cost

Senate Bill 747, which would create an audit office within the Board of Education to audit the operations and expenditures of the Department of Education, drew testimony about the need for independent performance audits and questions about staffing, independence and cost.

Capstan Ploy, executive director of the Board of Education, said the board supports the intent of accountability but noted auditing is a highly specialized skill and the board will need to work out cost and staffing details. Members questioned how an office reporting to the board would preserve operational independence and whether existing audit functions could be leveraged.

Senators also queried whether the board currently has authority or processes to order audits and how performance audits would be prioritized. The Department of Education said it supports the intent but noted additional analysis would be needed to implement a new office.

The committee recommended passing SB 747 with technical and non‑substantive amendments, blanked the appropriation amount and noted in the committee report that $575,000 was requested by the Department of Education; the committee vote adopting the recommendation was recorded on the hearing record. Committee members stressed that further work with Budget & Finance would be needed to scope costs and to address civil-service exemptions proposed by the bill.