Delaware Inspector General

Why Delaware Needs
an Office of the Inspector General

On August 14, 2025, Governor Matt Meyer signed into law Senate Bill 4, creating an independent and nonpartisan Office of the Inspector General (OIG) in Delaware with the authority to investigate state agencies and state-funded entities for fraud, waste, mismanagement, and corruption. This office will provide oversight of government agencies and ensure the public has confidence in how they operate.

For nearly two decades, open government advocates had fought for the establishment of this critical office. The achievements represents the efforts of thousands of ordinary Delawareans who continued to push for this issue, and the Delaware Coalition for Open Government is proud to have been a part of those efforts.

Thank you for making your voices heard and getting our public officials to create this important office!

Delaware Office of the Inspector General

  • Independent and nonpartisan, and not engaged in partisan elections or campaigns.
  • Chosen by an independent selection committee to serve a renewable 5-year term.
  • Ensures government agencies act in the public interest.
  • Ensures public officials perform their duties in accordance with their Oath of Office.
  • Ensures protections for whistleblowers who report wrongdoing.
  • Saves taxpayer money by recovering misspent funds and preventing governmental waste.

Senate Bill 4, sponsored by Senator Laura Sturgeon and Representative Cyndie Romer along with 23 additional members of the General Assembly, had strong, bipartisan support in the legislature and widespread public support. Despite the efforts of special interests who benefit from the corruption and backroom deals, an Office of the Inspector General is now a reality in Delaware, joining the thirty-five states and the District of Columbia in having an OIG at the state or local level.

The Delaware OIG will enhance public trust in our government by ensuring that state officials perform their duties in accordance with their Oath of Office, which places the public interest before any personal or special interests.

Sen. Laura Sturgeon, retired Rep. John Kowalko Jr., Rep. Cyndie Romer, and Governor Matt Meyer pose with signed copy of SB 4
Sen. Laura Sturgeon, retired Rep. John Kowalko Jr., Rep. Cyndie Romer, and Governor Matt Meyer pose with signed copy of SB 4.

"The most important public official you've never heard of"

Delaware has long struggled with having an open and transparent government that is accountable to residents and taxpayers. In 2015, the Center for Public Integrity ranked Delaware as the 48th worst state for its systems to deter corruption. In 2024, the organization F Minus gave Delaware a failing grade on lobbyist transparency. 

The first attempt to create a Delaware Inspector General was House Bill 155, sponsored by Representative Bill Oberle in 2007 with bipartisan support. The bill passed the House of Representatives unanimously, but was kept in the Senate Finance Committee. A similar effort in 2009 with House Bill 134 was never released from the House Administration Committee.

In 2020, after scandals such as asbestos mishandling at a Boxwood Road construction site and backroom deals to dismantle the Rodney Square bus hub, establishing an Office of the Inspector General (OIG) became the main focus for DelCOG, which began working with the Association of Inspectors General to craft model legislation for a state OIG. The culmination of those efforts was House Bill 405, a bipartisan bill sponsored by Representative John Kowalko Jr. that would have created the strongest Inspector General’s office in the country. Seventeen Delaware organizations signed on in support, and the House Administration Committee released the bill, but Speaker Pete Schwartzkopf never brought the bill to a vote in the House.

DelCOG continued pushing for the creation of a Delaware OIG, including presenting at an Inspector General symposium at Villanova Law School. In 2024, Senator Laura Sturgeon introduced Senate Bill 21, an even stronger version of the prior bill. SB 21 was unanimously passed out of the Senate Executive Committee, but the bill never received a hearing in the Senate Finance Committee before the legislative session came to a close at the end of June.

In November 2024, Matt Meyer was elected Governor of Delaware after campaigning on the issue of a Delaware Inspector General, saying “It’s time Delaware had one,” and that he would press for the passage of legislation to create one. This reinvigorated advocates who hoped that Delaware was one step closer to establishing a state OIG.

In January 2025, Senator Laura Sturgeon introduced Senate Bill 4, which was cosponsored by 24 other senators and representatives. This strong, bipartisan sponsorship list represented nearly half of the legislators in the General Assembly. Sen. Sturgeon and House prime sponsor Rep. Cyndie Romer wrote about the importance of the bill in a January 10 op-ed: “It’s about time for a Delaware inspector general”.

The public responded by writing and calling the members of the General Assembly to let them know that this type of government oversight was badly needed. The bill was subsequently passed by the Senate on May 22 and then by the House as the last bill of year in the early hours of July 1. The following month, on August 14, 2025, Governor Meyer signed the bill into law, officially establishing the Delaware Office of the Inspector General. 

What will the office do?

By exercising its oversight and investigative authority, an Office of the Delaware Inspector General will:

  1. Ensure that government agencies act in the public interest and conduct agency affairs with honesty and integrity.
  2. Uphold the reputation of agencies that are in compliance with the law if wrongly accused of improper or illegal behavior.
  3. Save taxpayer money — inspectors general have a history of reducing waste in government agencies.
  4. Investigate and evaluate state-agency deficiencies and questionable practices to deter and stop fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement.
  5. Hold agency officials ethically and legally accountable for their actions or inactions.
  6. Recommend legal action regarding official misconduct if laws are broken by working in concert with law enforcement, the Attorney General, the State Auditor, and the Public Integrity Commission.
  7. Respond to alerts by resident and state-employee whistleblowers.
  8. Recommend changes to state laws, policies, and procedures to help rectify systemic problems by reporting to the governor, state agencies, the legislator, and the public.
  9. Provide intangible benefits by serving as an alternative resource for employees and staff to report their concerns, while motivating state-agency officials to function in the best interests of all Delawareans.

An independent, nonpartisan Office of the Inspector General fills a void in our state government and benefits state agencies by assisting them to efficiently and effectively carry out their missions, reinforcing agency policies and procedures, and investigating wrongdoing if necessary, while working cooperatively with the Department of Justice and the Auditor of Accounts.

OIGs in other states have recovered billions in misspent taxpayer dollars while deterring further corruption and other wrongdoing. The state estimates that the OIG will cost around $1.5 million each year, which represents around 0.025% of the state’s $6 billion budget for FY 2025. In other states, these offices have recovered funds far exceeding the cost to fund them. The OIG is a good investment to protect public funds and will save taxpayers money by recovering misspent funds and preventing waste and fraud.

Thank you!

Thank you to all those who worked to create the independent, nonpartisan Office of the Inspector General to provide the oversight and accountability that the public deserves. Your voice – the voice of the people – was vitally important. 

Members of DelCOG after the OIG bill signing ceremony.

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