ABOUT SENATE OVERSIGHT

Who We Are

The Office of Oversight and Outcomes was launched by California Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg in 2008. He envisioned a non-partisan office that would help foster good government by encouraging legislators to set goals – the “outcomes” in our name – and to monitor how well those goals are met. The general goals of legislative oversight are to increase accountability, provide transparency, and expose fraud, waste, and abuse.

We are a team of three veteran journalists. Our aim is to be nimble and versatile as we use the skills of investigative reporting to scrutinize state government. Through interviews and research, we gather and analyze information, then pull it together to assist committee oversight efforts and policymakers. The result may be a stand-alone report or a background briefing for an oversight hearing. Depending on the investigation, the findings can be presented as an array of choices or specific recommendations.

Senator Steinberg has described the oversight office as a “strike team.” As such, our approach differs from the Legislative Analyst’s Office and the Senate Office of Research, where specialists provide expertise in defined policy areas. We are generalists who use policy specialists as one source of information. But we also generate our own analysis from public records and from the insights of people who actually deliver and use state services. Our reports give those people a voice -- another feature that sets us apart.

Topics of inquiry can come from legislators, policy experts and the public. Sometimes, an initial investigation may lead to other areas ripe for scrutiny.


SOOO Staff

  •  Randy Chinn, Director
  • Monique Graham, Legislative Aide
  • John Hill, Principal Consultant
  • Dorothy Korber, Principal Consultant
  • Jim Sweeney, Principal Consultant

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