North Carolina lawmakers are legislating greater oversight of the Transportation Department after audit report showed overspending. | Stock Photo
North Carolina lawmakers are legislating greater oversight of the Transportation Department after audit report showed overspending. | Stock Photo
North Carolina's legislative bodies approved a spending reform bill targeting the state Department of Transportation audit showed that the agency overspent its 2019 budget by almost $750 million.
"This comprehensive bill addresses needed structural reforms at NCDOT while continuing to deliver transportation projects across our state," State House Transportation Committee co-chair Rep. John Torbett (R-Gaston) said in a news release posted to House Speaker Tim Moore's (R-Cleveland) website on June 24. "The people of North Carolina deserve no less."
The legislation would implement stronger accountability protocols and transparency to enforce at the Transportation Department, Moore's released reported, and added that the proposal would require enhanced management oversight, restructuring the 20-member board and annual audits. The legislation also attempts to balance the DOT budget, set a temporary minimum on the state’s gas tax, and monitor cash balances.
"The bill makes necessary changes, particularly in light of the State Auditor's report that DOT had overspent to the tune of $742 million in 2019," Rep. John Faircloth (R-Guilford) said in a Facebook post on June 26.
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