The commission responsible for drawing new congressional and legislative district lines has invited a formal audit of its finances and operations.
The Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission voted Thursday to send a request to the Michigan auditor general, which is an independent entity that watchdogs state agencies for the Legislature.
The vote by the commission was unanimous.
Commissioner Rebecca Szetela said the organization should be ready to answer questions about how it’s handled its finances and constitutional responsibilities under the voter-approved amendment that created it. The commission has exceeded its budget by more than $1 million.
“The point is to sort of help us defend ourselves in front of the Legislature when we ask for more money,” she said during Thursday’s meeting.
Most of that deficit stems from the costs of legal challenges to the commission’s work.
The commission earlier stirred up a controversy when it voted to unilaterally give itself a pay raise before it later rescinded the decision.
Commission Executive Director Edward Woods III recommended the audit.
“This is just more of a proactive move saying, hey, come and audit us, check us out with regards to that instead of waiting to see if we’re audited at all,” he said.
A spokesperson for the auditor general's office said the office had not yet received the request.
“Should it come to us, we would evaluate the scope and timing of the request along with our resources and make a decision at that point,” said State Relations Officer Kelly Miller in an email to Michigan Public Radio.
