Sen. Dixon partners with auditor on accountability bill

Missouri Auditor Nicole Galloway yesterday visited Springfield to discuss a bipartisan effort that would give her office more power to penalize government officials found guilty of such activities as fraud or misconduct.

Galloway, a Democrat, is working with state Sen. Bob Dixon to move forward legislation sponsored by the Springfield Republican. Greene County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Patterson, also a Republican, lent his office for the news conference yesterday.

Prefiled for the upcoming legislative session earlier this month, Dixon’s Senate Bill 176 would give the state auditor the ability to audit all or part of any government entity upon request by a prosecuting attorney or law enforcement agency. The bill supported by the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys also would:
    •    increase penalties for misconduct in the first degree to a Class E felony from a misdemeanor;
    •    create a new category of official misconduct in the second degree that’s a Class A misdemeanor; and
    •    require courts to more quickly prosecute governmental crimes.

“This bill will give local prosecutors and law enforcement the ability to maximize resources with the state auditor in investigations,” Dixon said in the release. “It will provide a method to ensure someone who embezzles taxpayer money can be held accountable by our courts for paying it back.”

Missouri’s 2017 legislative session begins Jan. 4.

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