Ohio Auditor Mary Taylor is keeping an eye on local government but a flaw in the system means no one is analyzing the efficiency of many state agencies nearly often enough.

Pending legislation in both the Ohio House and the Senate — House Bill 65 and Senate Bill 155 — hopes to change that by changing the law so the auditor can move forward with making sure our tax dollars are being spent wisely.

House Bill 65 will require the Ohio Auditor of State to conduct performance audits of certain state agencies every two years, while other agencies would undergo these audits on a rotating basis.

We applaud this effort because it will essentially hold government agencies accountable for their spending and reveal to the public any inefficiencies in how these organizations or agencies operate.

“Successful businesses continually look at their operations, and consider restructuring opportunities in order to enhance performance and cut costs,” said Peter Stautberg, a Republican representative from Cincinnati. “House Bill 65 is a perfect opportunity to help ensure that Ohio taxpayers get the best results from their investment of tax dollars. I urge the House majority to place partisan politics aside and pass this out of the Ways & Means Committee, and allow a full vote before the House.”

And since we are talking about government, we know there are lots of opportunities to address these concerns.

We expect the state auditor to be the accounting watchdog at a local level. Why wouldn’t we want to do the same with all key state organizations?

Of course, these are difficult times for the state and every expenditure taxes an already tight budget.

But giving the state auditor all the tools needed to ensure that all our state agencies are operating efficiently is vital.

Then the next step, and perhaps the most critical, is holding these offices accountable to making the needed changes.