Houghtaling & Downey Legislation Targeting Waste and Mismanagement in State Budgets Gains Assembly Approval

OCEAN TWP -- Legislation introduced by Assembly Members Eric Houghtaling and Joann Downey that would aim to increase budget transparency and target waste and mismanagement of State Government funds was approved by the General Assembly on Thursday. The bill would require the State Auditor to annually report on unspent State account balances,

“There is no room for mismanagement when we are talking about taxpayers’ dollars,” said Houghtaling (D-Monmouth), “Our goal is to increase transparency and efficiency in our State government, to provide the best services possible for New Jersey residents.”

The bill (A-4164) would require the State Auditor to annually report to the Legislature on unspent State account balances, including information and recommendations for addressing the accumulation of those funds to avoid waste, mismanagement, inefficiency, or fraud. The intention of the legislation is to increase transparency by identifying which accounts have funds sitting unnecessarily idle.

“It would be irresponsible to allow any waste of taxpayer money to continue,” said Downey (D-Monmouth), “We are aiming to make every dollar go further and do more for our residents.”

The legislation was approved 72-0 and now heads to the Senate for further consideration.