Every family in District 7A balances a budget. When money is tight, you account for every dollar — you do not simply ask for more. Maryland's government should be held to that same standard. That is why, in the 2026 legislative session, I introduced HB1449 to create an independent, statewide Office of the Inspector General: a permanent watchdog dedicated to protecting the taxpayers who fund every program in Annapolis.
Here is the key difference my bill is built around. A traditional audit looks backward at the numbers on a page. An inspector general investigates. As I told my colleagues, inspectors general possess “investigative authority, including subpoena power, to uncover facts that numbers alone cannot reveal.” That power to demand documents and testimony is exactly what is missing from state oversight today.
“Before Annapolis asks you for another dollar, it should prove it isn't wasting the ones it already takes.”
Just as important as the office's power is its independence. Under HB1449, an Inspector General Advisory Board — not the politicians being watched — would appoint the inspector general and conduct annual performance reviews. That structure, modeled on the offices that already exist in Pennsylvania and Virginia, keeps the watchdog accountable to results rather than to the very officials it is charged with scrutinizing.
We already know this model works close to home. Baltimore County, Baltimore City, Montgomery County, and Howard County all operate inspectors general, and they routinely surface waste that would otherwise go unnoticed. Yet the state government — which spends far more of your money than any county — has no equivalent, fully independent watchdog of its own. That gap is indefensible.
This matters most right now. With record-setting state budgets, looming deficits, and hundreds of new and increased taxes and fees already on the books, Marylanders deserve to know their money is being spent honestly before anyone in Annapolis asks them for another dime. As I put it, “Marylanders deserve a government that is accountable, transparent, and focused on responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars.”
HB1449 received its first hearing before the House Government, Labor, and Elections Committee, and I will keep fighting to get it across the finish line. Accountability shouldn't be a partisan idea — it's simply good government, and the people who pay the bills have earned it.
