Loughlin: 2026 H8562 - Urges Legislative Oversight in Inspector General Bill - House Finance (52126)
At the May 21, 2026, House Committee on Finance hearing, former State Representative John Loughlin (R District 71 - Tiverton, Little Compton, Portsmouth) testified on House Bill 8562, which aims to establish a Rhode Island Office of Inspector General. Although Loughlin expressed strong support for the bill's core mission to root out waste, fraud, and abuse, he raised a critical concern regarding its current scope.
Loughlin points out that the draft relies on broad "separation of powers" language to completely shield the legislative branch—including the General Assembly's $63 million operational budget, staff benefits, and grants—from any meaningful oversight by the proposed Inspector General. He argues that creating an independent watchdog while fully exempting the branch that controls the state's purse strings undermines the primary goal of restoring public trust.
To resolve this issue, Loughlin urges the committee to amend the legislation by adopting the balanced language found in the Delaware Inspector General statute (Title 29, Chapter 90E). This model permits the Inspector General to investigate the legislature's routine administrative operations, employment practices, and proc
House Bill No. 8562
BY Blazejewski, Kazarian, Hull, Caldwell, Shanley, Lima, Cotter, Spears, Azzinaro, Nardone
ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL (Establishes the office of inspector general to investigate the management and operation of agencies in an effort to prevent and deter fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement in the expenditure of public funds.)
{LC6482/1}
» http://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H8562.pdf
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