LAC Director Thomas Bardin
Though the state legislature is out of session, the Legislative Audit Council stays busy. At the request of state lawmakers, the LAC looks into state agencies–how they function, spend money and account for it.
Those findings often turn into restructuring or changes. Thomas Bardin is the Director of the LAC cites the major overhaul of what was the Employment Security Commission as a recent example. The ESC was revamped into a new agency with different leadership under the governor as the Department of Employment and Workforce. LAC’s recommendations were almost unanimously adopted.
But like the agencies that it studies, the LAC’s work is also made more difficult by budget cuts. Bardin spoke with SCRN’s Ashley Byrd about how the commission conducts its work and what lies ahead.
AUDIO: Director Bardin explains how the LAC works (9:57)
The Legislative Audit Council is similar in setup to Congress’s Governmental Accountability Officeand is unique nationally. Legislators are not voting members of their board. The governor has no legal authority to call for an LAC audit.
Bardin says the teams of the LAC are made up of staff accountants, lawyers, social workers–who all have highly analytical minds.
