Kim blasts state bill to consolidate watchdogs
But Scutari defends shift of power from comptroller to SCI
By: Katie Sobko
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey
..... A sitting U.S. Senator and the state's attorney general came together on December 1 [2025] to talk about a bill in the state Legislature that would "consolidate' state government watchdog agencies.
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Flanked by state Attorney General Matt Platkin and acting comptroller Kevin Walsh, Senator Andy Kim said there is a "crisis of confidence in governance in New Jersey."
..... "This effort to be able to gut transparency and accountability in our state right now, which is in the bill before the committee today, [12/01/2025]
is the wrong move at this moment," he said. "We need more accountability, more oversight, rather than less."
..... Platkin asked what problem he bill is actually addressing and why strengthening the State Commission of Investigation would come at the expense of weakening the anti-corruption efforts of the controller.
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"Does anybody in New Jersey seriously believe that we have too much oversight, that there is too much anti-corruption?: he said.
..... He also expressed concern about the wiretapping ability the bill would grant the SCI, which is a civilian agency, not law enforcement.
..... Walsh noted that he has served in an acting capacity since his nomination in 2020 because the state Senate would not confirm him and didn't say why.
..... Walsh called the bill retribution for the investigations of his office into government corruption, waste and fraud.
..... "The bill the committee is considering today [12/01/2025] would fundamentally alter the executive branch's ability to police itself - not just state agencies but also governments in counties where a lot of the fraud, waste and abuse in New Jersey is," he said. "Taxpayer funds will be less secure, and it really will be going no steps forward and five steps back in our commitment to accountability."
..... As they addressed the media, stat4e Senate President Nick Scutari arrived and listened to the press conference for a few minutes. As Kim, Platkin and Walsh wrapped up, Scutari addressed reporters to defend the bill.
..... He said the state "needs to do something different" and that "if three's real corruption, we want to root it out" and "reinvigorate a powerful agency."
..... The Senate president said this was not an effort to cut down investigations by the comptroller but instead to move the investigation efforts from the comptroller to the SCI.
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Scutari said this is not retribution for someone whose term is ending in 49 days and that if it was about Walsh, he would have put his nomination up for a vote for him to be voted down.
..... "I think these people think too much about my thinking about them as individual. I'm not. I'm thinking about revamping government in a way that will work for the people," Scutari said.
..... He said Walsh has not called him for a meeting to suggest policy changers in relation to any of the reports or investigations conducted by his office.
..... As the committee meeting started, a companion bill still had not been introduced in the Assembly. Scutari said he did not know when a bill would be introduced there or who would sponsor it.
..... Governor-elect Mikie Sherrill would not comment on the bill directly but posted on social media to say she is "opposed to efforts and oversight, including with out watchdog agencies that root out government corruption, waste and abuse."
..... The bill would move investigative "powers, functions and duties: from the State Comptroller's Office to the SCI. It was being presented as the state Senate;s State Government, Wagering, Tourism and Historicist Preservation Committee meeting December 1. [2025]
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Sponsored by Scutari, the bill says it continues the "process of consolidating and eliminating duplication among state government oversight entities" and cities actions taken 15 years ago to move the offices of the inspector general and the Medicaid inspector general into the Office of State Comptroller in 2010.
..... According to the bill's language, moving the investigations work out of the comptroller's office and consolidating it within the SCI "provides necessary insulation from partisan influence, changes in executive administration and changes in legislative personnel."
..... That would strip the comptroller's office of its investigative and subpoena powers, meaning it could audit public agencies but couldn't investigate wrongdoing or compel reforms.
..... It would also take the power to appoint the chair of the State Commission of Investigation away from the governor and give it to the Senate president and Assembly speaker.
.... The SCI features appointments form the governor as well as the Legislature. This bill would increase their salary from $35,000 to $75,000 each year.