Alright, Legislators. This has been a long-standing discussion in legislators-lounge and other places and I finally just sat down and word-vomited my thoughts onto paper. Here’s my extremely rough draft of a bill creating an oversight commission. It is in no way complete, especially the section on reporting. The basic idea is to create an independent auditor that can request access to government institutions in order to audit suspected non-compliance with the laws of the Coalition.

I based a lot of the “scope” section on the Legislator Committee Act - probably the institution this is most similar to.

Some things I’d like the Assembly’s input on:

- Should it be one individual or a small group?
- if it’s an individual, how do we select their replacement if they lose leg status or are recalled?
- How do we ensure investigative authority isn’t abused (i took a crack at this with some clauses in the investigation and reporting)
- Should this office have any more authority than just investigate and report?
- Exclusivity clause - yes or no?
- Other suggestions/ideas for beefing this up?

With all that in mind, I give you my rough draft of the Oversight Act.
 

Quote:

Oversight Act

An Act creating an independent government oversight office

1. Scope

(1) The Oversight Office is an independent body responsible for investigating and reporting on government activity to the public.

(2) The Oversight Office shall consist of one to three Inspectors General, nominated by the Cabinet on recommendation from the existing Inspectors General, and confirmed by the Assembly with a simple majority vote.

(3) An Inspector General shall at all times be a Legislator in good standing, Loss of Legislator status, resignation, or a successful recall motion against an Inspector General shall immediately rescind all powers granted by this Act.

(4) An Inspector General shall not hold this position concurrently with a position on the Cabinet, Council on Regional Security, or High Court.

2. Investigations

(1) The Oversight Office shall ordinarily possess no special access or powers beyond that which is granted to Legislators.

(2) The Oversight Office may, upon receipt of a complaint or with evidence of probable cause that a government official or entity is not compliant with the laws of the Coalition, petition the Assembly or at least two of the following institutions to begin an investigation:
a. the Cabinet;
b. the Delegate;
c. the Council on Regional Security;
d. the High Court.

(3) A petition from the Oversight Office shall be deemed successful and an investigation opened with a majority vote of the Assembly, or with majority approval of at least two of the government entities listed in section (2).

(4) A petition shall at minimum state the detailed reason for the request, evidence of probable cause that the stated official or entity is not compliant with the laws of the Coalition, and the exact documents and/or discussion areas to which the Oversight Office is requesting access.

(5) Upon a successful petition, the Oversight Office shall immediately be granted access to the documents and/or discussion areas requested and begin its investigation. If a petition was not granted by the Assembly, the Oversight Office shall notify the Assembly that it has opened an investigation.

(6) An investigation shall conclude and access to documents and/or discussion areas rescinded when:
a. The Oversight Office publishes its final report on the investigation;
b. The Assembly votes by simple majority to end the investigation;
c. The institutions which granted the petition, if one was granted using this method, collectively decide to end the investigation.

3. Reporting

1 The Oversight Office shall provide an initial report to the Assembly or institutions it petitioned within seven days of beginning its investigation. This initial report shall describe the Office’s initial findings and establish a timeframe for future updates.

2 The Oversight Office shall provide regular progress reports to the institution/s it petitioned.

3 At the end of its investigation, the Oversight Office shall publish a final report detailing its findings and a recommended course of action.