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Political Commentary: Heath Haussamen

Let’s Give The New Mexico Auditor Some Teeth

By Heath Haussamen, 11-15-09

So in September, State Auditor Hector Balderas publicly shamed 87 government agencies in New Mexico by releasing to the media a list of agencies that hadn’t submitted annual and compliance audits to the state as required by law.

It was the first time the auditor publicly released such a list, and dozens of agencies responded by immediately turning in late audits or at least calling Balderas’ office to make arrangements to get their audits done.

But 34 agencies didn’t even bother to respond, though they’re required by law to submit annual audits. (Check out the list of the 34 agencies, courtesy of The Santa Fe New Mexican’s Kate Nash.) Balderas has basically no recourse to get those agencies to comply with a state law that is designed to help ensure those agencies aren’t rife with fraud, waste and abuse.

In any state that would be a crying shame. In the Land of Corruption, it’s ludicrous.

And in some ways not surprising. Government in New Mexico has long been rife with fraud, waste and abuse. Why would we expect that laws created by politicians who are part of that system would do anything to prevent that from happening?

OK, I’m off on a bit of a rant, but the bottom line is this: Balderas is charged with ensuring that every government agency in New Mexico isn’t wasting or misspending taxpayer dollars. But there’s nothing in state law that penalizes government agencies that give Balderas’ office the bird.

In short, the law has no teeth. That means Balderas doesn’t have any either.

AG can’t do much either

So Balderas has forwarded the names of the bird-waving government agencies to the attorney general, but what is Gary King supposed to do? There’s no specific allegation of wrongdoing. Plus, the AG doesn’t have the resources to go after so many government agencies.

My initial reaction to reading The New Mexican’s recent article about those 34 agencies was to wonder why Balderas couldn’t just initiate a special audit of each. After all, he can bill agencies for the cost of conducting special audits of those agencies. So couldn’t he hire, on contract, a team of CPAs from around the state and make a very public spectacle of those nearly three dozen agencies, while also ensuring they aren’t wasting or misspending public money – and billing them for the cost of doing it?

That’s not what special audits are for, the auditor’s office told me. Such audits aren’t general, annual checks on the spending of government agencies, but are designed to be very targeted audits in response to specific allegations.

So they’re not a tool that can be used in this instance.

Will lawmakers, governor take up the issue in January?

The point? The law needs changed. Government agencies that don’t submit annual audits must be penalized. Balderas has proposed that the Legislature and governor approve a law stripping government agencies of funding if they’re behind on their annual audits.

That’s a start. I might argue that a new law should go even further. This is serious stuff. If government agencies aren’t submitting annual audits, there is no way – absolutely no way – to ensure that those agencies aren’t plagued by corruption.

That means those agencies that haven’t responded to Balderas’ office (click here to view the list again) are all suspect. Shame on them all.

Maybe those agencies should be fined in addition to having their state funding withheld. Maybe the members of their governing bodies should be subject to criminal charges. That’s for the Legislature and governor to debate and decide.

Let’s hope, with the myriad of corruption scandals plaguing this state (including the $3.3 million embezzlement from the Jemez Mountain School District uncovered by Balderas’ office), that the governor and lawmakers choose to have such a debate in the 30-day session that convenes in January.

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