Legislative oversight refers to the review and evaluation of selected executive branch programs and activities. During the past three decades, legislatures have assumed more active oversight of executive branch operations. Nevertheless, only about half of DOT executives as well as state legislators who responded to an NCSL-AAS-HTO survey agreed that a legislature has a fundamental responsibility to oversee DOT operations. More than 40 percent of legislators, however, thought the DOT should be subject to additional independent oversight and accountability, while no DOT officials did.
Most state legislatures use a blend of most or all of the mechanisms for DOT oversight described in this report. | Oversight takes place through many mechanisms described below; most states use a blend of most or all of these tools. Typically, the budget and appropriations process also includes oversight activities, and in many cases is seen as the main forum for legislative oversight of the DOT. Several survey respondents remarked that knowledge and investment on the part of both DOTs and legislatures are necessary to ensure that oversight tools are effective and meaningful in practice. |