The Joint Committee on Government and Finance plans to prioritize transparency in the state government’s investments, at the request of Auditor-Elect John McCuskey.

As state revenues decline and expenses increase, McCuskey said the legislature has a “real opportunitity” to change how it deals with financial information to the benefit of West Virginia’s citizens.

With more transparency, McCuskey said all citizens will be able to serve as auditors for the state rather than just himself.

McCuskey suggests the Committee begin prioritizing transparency by modernizing the system through which financial information is organized and made available to both citizens and legislators alike. He said the new online system will change how the legislature spends money when it is consistently exposed to civillian oversight, thereby making a necessary change to the “culture” of state government.

Members of technololgy business OpenGov were also in attendance and presented on their ideas for improving West Virginia’s financial transparency through their online database program.

OpenGov Account Executive Jared Borg shared his insights as a former director in Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel’s office to help the Committee understand OpenGov’s capabilities for reviving transparency.

Borg said, because of Ohio’s prioritization of transparency with the help of OpenGov technology, Ohio now ranks number one in the nation for government transparency after having previously been at number 46.

Because of increased accessibility to Ohio’s government information, Borg said the state gained 11.5 million “civillian auditors.” He said West Virginia can do the same.

The Committee had no questions for either McCuskey or the OpenGov representatives.

The Committee plans to meet again on Tuesday, February 7, 2017.

The Joint Committee on Health met to discuss the Suspicious Ordering Policy of wholesalers to pharmacies.

Executive Director of the West Virginia Board of Pharmacy, David Potters, said the rule was copied directly from the DEA in 1985. The rule states that wholesalers shall submit a Suspicious Order Report when there is a change in size, quantity or a deviation from prior orders. Potters said the rule is vague and it needs to be better defined in order to cut down on drug addiction but continue to provide the drugs to those who need them. The rule wasn’t enforced however until 2012, bringing up the question of what other rules aren’t being enforced.

Committee Chair Sen. Ryan Ferns, R – Ohio, suggested the Board of Pharmacy come up with a new rule to directly tackle the drug addiction problem and won’t affect those who legitimately need the prescriptions. 

Chair Delegate Joe Ellington, R – Mercer, requested that a record of the past four years be brought to the committee to see if the rules of the Board of Pharmacy have been reviewed in that time.