Legislative Priorities

Collaborating with policymakers is essential to strengthening accountability and transparency in government. We highlight several core areas of our work below, along with resources we hope will help legislators gain a deeper understanding of how our Office benefits communities statewide.

High-interest Topics 

• SAO’s cybersecurity and IT audits help protect Washingtonians

  Cybercrime has become the number one source of losses to governments in Washington state. With technology playing such a critical role in providing public services, audits from the State Auditor’s Office are now essential elements in overall government cybersecurity. For example, in fiscal year 2026 our penetration testing identified 396 vulnerabilities in IT systems. When our auditors flag such issues for Washington governments, we give them a chance to remediate the vulnerability before it becomes exposed to cyberattackers. 

  Our Office’s cybersecurity work began in 2013, and these offerings continue to feature specialized services like ransomware resiliency audits, critical infrastructure assessments, cybersecurity checkups and more. Learn more about work for fiscal year 2026.
   
• SAO’s new Special Investigation Division affirms our role in fighting fraud
  Losses of public funds and related fraud investigations have increased dramatically over the past year. To help address this trend and provide a coordinated and proactive approach to this important work, our Office has established a new Special Investigations Division encompassing our Fraud Investigation, Whistleblower and Citizen Hotline programs. This Division is led by Director Brandi Pritchard, a Certified Fraud Examiner and skilled fraud investigator with years of experience conducting investigations and providing fraud-prevention training.
  
  Washingtonians and government employees can report a suspected misuse of public funds on our website.
   
• Cost-effective, timely audits help governments maintain their fiscal health
  Rating agencies such as Standard & Poor’s require governments to provide a recent audit by our Office to help them determine the government’s bond rating, which can impact the government’s financial posture and the services it may provide to the community. To emphasize how important collaboration and audit timeliness are to this process, we have put together a special report, “Three Perspectives: How Audit Timeliness Impacts Government Bond Ratings” (PDF), which provides insight from a city finance director, a bond underwriter to local governments, and an audit leader from our Office.
   

• Use of Deadly Force Investigation Audits
  The Office of the Washington State Auditor was the first state auditor’s office in the nation to systematically review every local investigation into police use of deadly force, as authorized by the Legislature in 2021. Since publishing our first audit in mid-2022, our team of experts has audited more than 100 use of deadly force investigations, and in early 2026 we released a report summarizing common areas of investigation noncompliance and our recommendations for improvement from the first full three years of these audits: Use of Deadly Force Investigation Audits: 2025 Year-End Report (PDF).
  
  We believe our reports will serve as a valuable resource for lawmakers, the Criminal Justice Training Commission, and the state’s independent investigation teams as they work to ensure police use of deadly force is investigated in a manner that maintains public trust and confidence.  

• The importance of SAO performance audits
  Created by Washington voters in 2005 with the passage of I-900, performance audits evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of government programs with the goal of making them work better. We completed more than 20 performance audits in the 2023-25 biennium, often with far-reaching implications for Washingtonians. Auditors have looked at civil asset forfeiture laws, examined the accuracy of school funding systems at OSPI, evaluated the state’s oversight of the cannabis industry and performed multiple audits in special education. Learn more on our About Performance Audits webpage or check out performance audits in progress.
   
• Financial Intelligence Tool (FIT)
  The State Auditor’s Office annually collects financial information from all local governments across the state. To present this valuable information in a transparent and available manner, SAO created the Financial Intelligence Tool (FIT) through its Center for Government Innovation. FIT is a very useful tool for policymakers and staff as it displays information by individual governments and government types, and allows users to parse the information by topic, spending or even the financial health of an entity. 

Legislative contacts

Scott Nelson, Director of Legislative and Policy Affairs

Scott Nelson manages legislative and policy relations for the State Auditor's Office. His career in government includes being a member of the original staff of Congressman Norman D. Dicks; a stint as a national consultant; then owning his own firm before coming to work for Auditor McCarthy.

Scott can be reached via email at Scott.Nelson@sao.wa.gov

Collin Thrower, Senior Legislative Analyst

Collin leads research, development and analysis of legislation and policy while coordinating related processes across departments.

To reach Collin or make an appointment with Scott Nelson, please email Collin.Thrower@sao.wa.gov.