A Statement from Acting State Comptroller Kevin Walsh about Efforts to Reduce Independent Oversight in New Jersey
A Statement from Acting State Comptroller Kevin Walsh about Efforts to Reduce Independent Oversight in New Jersey
For the last few years, in response to reports I have issued, powerful politicians, government vendors, and interest groups in New Jersey have attacked the Office of the State Comptroller and suggested ways to prevent the office from conducting independent oversight. The latest effort appears to come from Senate leadership and involves a proposal to move OSC’s investigatory powers to the State Commission of Investigation, an agency that, not coincidentally, reports in part to Senate leadership.
While this is being framed as being about efficiency, make no mistake: it is a naked power grab designed to weaken accountability, undermine oversight, and shield the powerful from scrutiny. It would also thwart the Governor-elect’s administration’s ability to investigate corruption and protect tax dollars through an independent State Comptroller the Governor-elect appoints.
OSC is an independent watchdog and is insulated from political interference. While SCI is an important part of government oversight in New Jersey, it has a different mission and structure. It is governed by four commissioners, one of whom is appointed by the Senate leader. Any investigation that the Governor requests, like Governor Murphy did with the Economic Development Authority (EDA) and New Jersey City University, would be subject to a vote by the commissioners. Governors should not have to rely on legislative appointees to ensure effective investigations of the state and local government.
Further, as my reports and the reports of my predecessors have shown, there is no shortage of corruption to uncover. It's hard to see how reducing independent oversight would benefit anyone, except the powerful politicians and interests that OSC has investigated. If anything, the government needs more rigorous independent oversight and accountability, not less.
Since I joined OSC in early 2020, we’ve published over 100 reports and recovered more than $670 million in public funds from FY 2020 to 2025. Our investigations have made recommendations involving many millions of dollars of savings for state and local governments. We have uncovered, among other things:
- Conflicts of interest and violations of law by health insurance funds and their vendors involving over 100,000 public employees
- $34 million in deficits in lifeguard pension funds
- 109 school bus companies failing to meet safety documentation standards
- Over $1 million spent on private police training found to be unconstitutional
- Widespread violations of laws prohibiting wasteful boat check payments by local governments
These are not theoretical problems — they are real abuses of public trust, that cost the state real money. Transferring these powers to a body in part controlled by legislative leadership would undermine the independent oversight. It would weaken OSC’s ability to expose corruption, protect taxpayer dollars, and hold powerful institutions accountable.
I send every report my office releases to legislative leadership and offer to answer questions about our findings. We have focused on important issues taxpayers care about, including unlawful sick leave payouts, insurance brokers’ role in rising health insurance costs, illegal raises in county governments, poor quality nursing homes, racial profiling, school bus safety, Medicaid fraud, and misspent opioid settlement funds.
Despite the importance of these issues to New Jersey, I have never been invited by the Senate leadership to discuss our findings or work on legislative solutions. At a time when the state is facing a budget crunch, and the public is clamoring for government that works for them, it is troubling that a house of the Legislature would spend time crafting a proposal to squash oversight – rather than tackling the problems OSC has identified.
I have not been contacted by anyone in the Legislature about this proposal. I would welcome the chance to explain to legislators why stripping OSC of its investigatory powers and independence would be a terrible idea — one that would cost taxpayers and weaken the foundations of democratic accountability in New Jersey.
