Scutari proposes expanding State Commission of Investigation’s role as New Jersey’s lead government watchdog

Bill would create a state inspector general within the commission and require coordination among oversight agencies while dropping an earlier proposal to transfer investigative functions from the State Comptroller

New Jersey Senate President Nicholas Scutari has introduced legislation that would expand the State Commission of Investigation’s role in New Jersey’s government oversight system by creating a State Inspector General, requiring greater coordination among watchdog agencies and formally designating the commission as “the one independent oversight entity within State government.”

Senate Bill 4609, introduced June 30, describes the SCI as “the one independent oversight entity within State government” authorized to investigate misconduct by public officers and employees, review government programs, “provide accountability and transparency,” promote the efficiency and integrity of government operations, identify cost savings and investigate “fraud, waste, and abuse of taxpayer funds.” The bill abandons Scutari’s earlier proposal to transfer investigative functions from the Office of the State Comptroller but includes several structural changes to the commission.

The bill, described as an act “clarifying the investigatory powers and duties of the State Commission of Investigation,” has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee. The legislation marks Scutari’s second attempt in less than a year to restructure New Jersey’s government watchdog system.

Last December, Scutari introduced legislation that would have transferred investigative functions and subpoena authority from the Office of the State Comptroller to the State Commission of Investigation while also authorizing SCI to seek court-approved wiretaps in certain investigations. Scutari argued the consolidation would reduce duplication and improve efficiency, but the proposal drew widespread opposition from good government groups, Acting State Comptroller Kevin Walsh, Attorney General Matt Platkin and U.S. Sen. Andy Kim, who all warned that it would weaken one of New Jersey’s few independent oversight agencies and inject politics into sensitive investigations.

The contentious committee hearing drew national attention after Kim waited several hours to testify and was then given only three minutes to address lawmakers.

After the bill advanced through committee, Scutari announced he was withdrawing it, saying he had “heard the concerns” and wanted to wait until Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill took office before pursuing any restructuring of the state’s oversight agencies.

One of the bill’s most significant changes would establish a State Inspector General within the SCI. The legislation says the inspector general would be responsible for “acting as the lead investigator for the commission,” supervising all SCI investigations, carrying out the commission’s day-to-day operations, and ensuring the commission fulfills its statutory responsibilities. Employees of the commission, including the State Inspector General, would be hired “at will and without regard to civil service.”

Bruce Keller, a former federal prosecutor, has served as executive director of the State Commission of Investigation since July 2025. The commission has not released a public report during Keller’s tenure, though it held a public hearing in May on a forthcoming report examining organized crime.

The legislation gives SCI a larger coordination role among the state’s oversight agencies. It states that other investigative oversight entities, “including the Office of the State Comptroller,” are to “collaborate with the commission, when appropriate, in the discharge of its statutory duties.”

The commission would convene meetings at least twice a year with the Office of the Attorney General, the Office of the State Comptroller, the Election Law Enforcement Commission, and other oversight agencies for the purpose of “consulting and coordinating” audits, investigations, and reviews while protecting confidential investigative information.

The bill would also allow either the Senate or the General Assembly, by resolution of that chamber, to request an SCI investigation, replacing the current requirement for a concurrent resolution adopted by both houses.

It also expressly authorizes SCI to investigate allegations of misconduct involving prosecutors and members of prosecution teams, including detectives, while providing that the commission may not exercise its powers in a way that interferes with an ongoing civil or criminal investigation or prosecution.

Among the other provisions, the bill would:

• Increase commissioner salaries from $35,000 to $65,000.
• Require all four commissioners to be attorneys admitted to practice in New Jersey.
• Require SCI investigations to be conducted in accordance with “prevailing national and professional standards” for government investigations.
• Require the commission to “provide and publicize a process for complaints and requests for investigations to be submitted confidentially” by members of the public and government employees.
• Explicitly authorize investigations involving “fraud, waste, and abuse of taxpayer funds.”

The bill would also change how SCI refers potential criminal violations to prosecutors, allowing referrals “at an appropriate time during the course of that investigation” rather than immediately upon obtaining evidence. The legislation also would make notification to the Office of Attorney Ethics discretionary rather than mandatory when SCI makes a criminal referral involving a prosecutor.

The legislation also clarifies how public records requests would be handled during SCI investigations. Records that were already public before being provided to the commission would remain available through the agency that originally possessed them, rather than through the SCI. At the same time, requesters could not seek those records by citing an SCI investigation or subpoena, a provision intended to prevent disclosure of investigative details while preserving access to otherwise public records.

A former standalone office, the Inspector General was abolished under Chris Christie and consolidated into the Office of the State Comptroller in 2010.

The bill does not explain why a new State Inspector General is needed or how that position would differ from inspector general functions that have been housed within the Comptroller’s Office since then. It is unclear what practical effect the bill’s description of SCI as “the one independent oversight entity within State government” would have on the roles of the comptroller and other watchdog agencies.