Legislative oversight refers to the review and evaluation of selected executive branch programs and activities. According to the Ohio Legislative Service Commission, "The legislative branch conducts oversight activities because it not only enacts new programs for the state, but also has a duty to ensure that existing programs are implemented and administered efficiently, effectively and in a manner consistent with legislative intent."12 During the past three decades, legislatures have assumed more active oversight of executive branch operations.13
Oversight takes place through many mechanisms described in the remainder of this chapter, including the work of certain select and standing committees; legislative approval of leadership appointments; review of administrative rules and regulations; adoption of performance goals and measures; evaluation of programs, agencies and activities; and reporting requirements. Most states use a blend of most or all of these tools. Typically, the budget and appropriations process-discussed in the next chapter-also includes oversight activities, and in many cases is seen as the main mechanism for legislative oversight of the DOT. As several survey respondents remarked, knowledge and investment on the part of both DOTs and legislatures are necessary to ensure that oversight tools are effective and meaningful in practice.
The literature on separation of powers typically considers oversight of executive entities to be one of the key roles of the legislative branch. According to NCSL, "Legislative oversight is a fundamental check and balance. As states have assumed greater responsibilities for government programs and services, the importance of legislative oversight has increased."14 Nevertheless, only about half of DOT executives as well as state legislators who responded to the NCSL-AASHTO 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 (see Key Survey Findings on this and the following page). "More active legislative involvement, however," cautions NCSL, "may increase frictions [between the legislative and] the executive branch."15