Mass. Inspector General makes his inaugural visit to the R.I. State House. Here’s why.

Massachusetts Inspector General Jeffrey Shapiro waits to testify in front of the House Committee On Finance on May 22, 2024. (Michael Salerno/Rhode Island Current)

Even Massachusetts Inspector General Jeffrey Shapiro couldn’t avoid the dreaded commute across the I-195 Washington Bridge.

Yet the Commonwealth official braved a two-hour drive from Boston, including bridge congestion, to make his first visit to the Rhode Island State House Wednesday, talking to lawmakers about a bill directly connected to the bridge scandal.

The bipartisan bill introduced in January by Rep. George Nardone, a Coventry Republican, doesn’t actually mention the abrupt bridge closure a month earlier. But proponents of the push to create a state Office of the Inspector General capitalized on the apparent lack of state oversight on the structurally unsound bridge to make their case.

“The bridge is really the main issue for me,” said Rep. Teresa Tanzi, a South Kingstown Democrat and co-sponsor of Nardone’s legislation. 

Tanzi expressed frustration over lack of answers on the bridge, including the long-awaited results of an independent investigation into what caused the structural deficiencies, and who knew about it.

“We are a part-time legislature with very little staff and really limited oversight capacity,” Tanzi said.  “An OIG would really help restore faith in the government, and get answers on this investigation.”

Modeled after Massachusetts, the Rhode Island bill calls for a new, state office, headed by an appointee chosen through a majority vote among the governor, the attorney general, the general treasurer, the lieutenant governor, secretary of state, the House speaker and the minority leader and the Senate president and minority leader. 

The appointed official, whose selection process must also include at least one public hearing, would be limited to a single, five-year term, with a salary set by the Legislature. The bill requires prospective appointees to have at least five years experience in accounting, criminal justice or a “closely related profession,” and a bachelor’s degree in a relevant field. 

The legislation lays out a host of investigative and auditing powers available to the inspector general to root out fraud and abuse in government spending, including subpoena power to gather records and compel witnesses from any state agency to testify under oath.

The inspector general doesn’t interfere with legislative policies or conduct “witch hunts” Nardone said, addressing members of the House Committee on Finance Wednesday. 

“What the inspector general does is help detect, and prevent and address waste, fraud and mismanagement.”

Nardone continued, “It wouldn’t be a panacea but you would get great results from the monetary compensation they are able to recover.”

Rhode Island doesn’t have to look far in search of proof of success. 

Massachusetts was the first to create a statewide, independent inspector general’s office in 1981. Ten other states, including Connecticut, have now followed suit with their own statewide counterparts, according to the Association of Inspectors General. 

Shapiro, the Commonwealth’s fifth inspector general, confirmed in October 2022, stressed the value of an independent office solely focused on waste, fraud and abuse compared with other oversight agencies like an auditor or attorney general.

“I do think what is unique to an investigator general is the mandate and mission, specifically on fraud, waste and abuse,” Shapiro told lawmakers. “Other oversight offices typically have another option which is a primary focus of their work.”

In 2023, Shapiro’s 90-person office fielded more than 3,000 tips on its hotline, and 1,200 requests for help with procurement by state agencies. It offered 30 training classes to a combined 1,200 attendees, issued seven reports and conducted investigations that resulted in six indictments, five guilty pleas, and recovery of $1.7 million in misspent funds, Shapiro said.

While Shapiro did not take a formal stance of support on Rhode Island’s bill, he stressed the benefits the office has provided in Massachusetts, not only financially but also systemically.

“An OIG can have a really positive impact on the way the government works,” he said.

Hence, why Shapiro accepted House Minority Leader Mike Chippendale’s invitation to visit Smith Hill and share his experiences as Massachusetts’ inspector general. It’s the first time an inspector general from any state has come to speak to Rhode Island lawmakers about the prospect of setting up a similar agency here, Sue Stenhouse, Chippendale’s chief of staff, said.

The perennial proposal  — dating back to at least 2002 — has historically been a Republican-led issue. Not this year. 

Eight Democrats, including Tanzi, have signed on as co-sponsors to Nardone’s bill in the House, while the Senate companion by Warwick Republican Anthony DeLuca features four cosponsors apiece from the Democrat and Republican parties. 

Rep. Terri Cortvriend, a Portsmouth Democrat and one of the House co-sponsors, attributed her support to her new realization of the bill; it wasn’t that she opposed the proposal in years passed, but simply that she wasn’t aware of the legislation, she said in an interview Wednesday. Cortvriend was also among a small group of Democrats who introduced their own version of an inspector general legislation in 2019.

“I come from a purple district, so being that this was something we had advocated for back then, it felt two-faced not to sign on once I knew about it,” she said.

Yet leaders in both chambers appear unconvinced. 

“We will review the testimony from our committee hearings and keep an open mind, but the offices of the Attorney General, the Auditor General and the U.S. Attorney already address corruption and waste in government,” Senate President Dominick Ruggerio and House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi said in a joint emailed statement on Wednesday. “We are concerned with the cost of millions of taxpayer dollars it would take to create a new office which would likely provide many duplicative services.”

Initial estimates pegged the cost for a Rhode Island inspector general at $1.5 million, based on the cost for the administrative leader along with a staff of 10 employees. 

Gov. Dan McKee, whose proposed fiscal 2025 budget does not include any money for an inspector general office, did not return inquiries for comment on Wednesday.

The legislation was held for further study by the House Finance Committee, which is standard practice on first hearing. The Senate has yet to hold an initial hearing on the companion legislation, but Senate Minority Leader Jessica de la Cruz said via text that she expects a hearing will happen next week.

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