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Key Chairman for Delbert Hosemann Writes Bill to Gut Power of the State Auditor’s Office
JACKSON, Miss. – A powerful committee chair appointed by Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann authored a bill last week to strip the Office of the State Auditor of much of its power.
“At a time when President Trump is cutting government fat, Mississippi’s swamp creatures and establishment politicians are trying to stop me from finding waste and theft of taxpayer funds. You may as well call this the Mississippi Corruption Act of 2025,” said State Auditor Shad White.
The new bill removes the ability of the Auditor’s office to:
- Perform audits of some nonprofits and for-profit companies spending taxpayer money. The auditor’s office used its ability to audit for-profit companies receiving taxpayer money to investigate a large pharmacy benefit manager in 2020, which resulted in the largest civil recovery ($55 million) in the history of the Office of the State Auditor. The welfare scandal (the largest public fraud scheme in state history) was only stopped because the auditor’s office could audit these kinds of entities.
- Audit for government waste. Auditor White just released an audit finding $335 million in waste in state government, and this bill would take away the office’s ability to perform these audits for waste.
- File suit to get back stolen or misspent taxpayer funds. Last year, Auditor White filed suit to get back some welfare money, and though Attorney General Lynn Fitch sued White to stop him, the court ruled White had this authority. The bill would remove White’s authority to file suits.
The bill, Senate Bill 2847, has been assigned by Hosemann to the Accountability, Efficiency, and Transparency Committee.
“This bill defies common sense,” said Auditor White “The real question here is why are these politicians doing this? What are they hiding? I encourage all Mississippians to call Lt. Gov. Hosemann’s office at (601) 359-3200 and say they are opposed to the Mississippi Corruption Act of 2025 (SB 2847).”
