A bill is being heard that would streamline the duties of the State Auditor. Auditor Tom Schweich says he’s working with legislators to pass the measure.

“This is a bill that really brings the auditor’s office into the 21st Century,” he says. “It eliminates some outdated or duplicative provisions, it codifies some things that we and every other state auditor across the country have been doing for years, and just brings it into a more accurate representation of what a state auditor does.”

He says there is some criticism that it expands the role of State Auditor, but that he doesn’t see it that way, and that’s not the purpose of the bill. If anything, he says, it makes some cuts to the auditor’s duties. Schweich says he’s been sued more than 50 times since he took office, and these clarifications should prevent superfluous lawsuits that waste taxpayer money and time.

A House Committee has approved the measure; it now goes to the full House for debate.

You can read the full bill HERE.