Gov. Gregoire signs bills to make government more accountable, including GMAP and performance audits

For Immediate Release: May 11, 2005

OLYMPIA � May 11, 2005 � Gov. Christine Gregoire today signed into law four bills to make Washington state government more accountable to the governor and the people of Washington.

�There�s a big difference between saying we�ll spend money, and actually making sure the job gets done,� said Gregoire. �Lots of people have promised to spend your money. Now it�s up to us to give you a return on your investment in no uncertain terms.�

The governor said the bills provide for a seamless system of accountability from the budget-writing process through implementation and performance audits.

�What gets watched gets done. And I�ll be watching,� said Gregoire.

House Bill 1970, an executive request from the governor, requires state agencies to establish a government quality management, accountability and performance system, known as GMAP. The system is based on the success of New York�s Comstat program and Baltimore�s Citystat program.

Gregoire made Washington the first state in the nation to use this approach, which brings together accurate and timely intelligence, effective tactics and strategies, rapid deployment of resources and relentless follow-up and assessment. The governor announced that Children�s Services would be the first department to come online with this new system, although several other agencies are moving forward ahead of schedule.

�This bill will mean that if we get a call that a child is in imminent danger and our caseworkers don�t visit that child within 24 hours, I�ll know about it,� said Gregoire. �Not six months later after an independent review of what went wrong, but right away.�

The governor said this new system fits right in with the performance audits bill she also signed today.

�When we uncover a problem with a performance audit, we can use the GMAP forum to examine the problem and fix it, complete with finding new ways to measure performance,� said Gregoire.

The governor also signed House Bill 1242, a bill requiring greater public involvement in the shaping of budget priorities, and HB 1856, a bill requiring the Department of Labor and Industries to prepare financial statements and financial information on the industrial insurance funds using specified standards.

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