Legislators Continue Push For DOT Audit Despite Walker Budget Veto

The Wisconsin Legislature’s Joint Audit Committee is calling for an examination of the state’s Department of Transportation.

Gov. Scott Walker vetoed a provision in the state budget to audit the DOT. Now committee members say they are “committed to pursue” the audit anyway.

The committee’s co-chair, Republican Sen. Robert Cowles of Green Bay, said the DOT hasn’t been examined by the state’s Legislative Audit Bureau in at least 20 years.

“People want to know that we’re using the money as efficiently as possible. They know we’ve got problems with the roads, the roads are rough, they’re full of potholes. We need to deal with it,” Cowles said.

Cowles said the Audit Bureau is “swamped” with other work. If, as expected, his committee approves the audit this fall, he said it won’t be finished for at least a year.