Inspector general asks senators to keep his office
Last Modified: Thursday, May 17, 2012 5:29 PM
BATON ROUGE (AP) — Inspector General Stephen Street has made a pitch to save his office, to state senators who are working on next year's budget.
The House stripped the $1.7 million for the inspector general and removed reference to the office in next year's budget. Members of the Senate Finance Committee suggested Thursday that they would seek to restore the funding.
Street described his office as a strong fighter against fraud and corruption in state agencies, and he suggested his funding was eliminated because he was doing his job too well battling public corruption.
Lawmakers in the House say the agency's work overlaps the duties performed by other law enforcement and auditing offices in state government. Street disagreed.
Several nonpartisan government watchdog organizations are pushing lawmakers to restore the funding.
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