Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee
(JLARC)

JLARC is a legislative committee focused on state government performance. It has equal membership from the House and Senate, evenly split between the parties. JLARC and the position of Legislative Auditor are established in statute  (Chapter 44.28 RCW).

The Legislature assigns studies through the budget and policy bills. Nonpartisan staff do research and complete audits according to professional standards. We present findings to JLARC at public meetings and post them to our website. The Legislative Auditor oversees the work and can make recommendations to agencies and the Legislature.

JLARC reports give accurate, unbiased, and credible answers to the Legislature’s questions. There are three types of studies:

1. Performance audits: We evaluate if a program works as intended, meets goals, and operates efficiently.
2. Sunset reviews: We evaluate a program or agency based on specific criteria in law and recommend continuation, change, or termination.
3. Tax preference reviews: We assess tax exemptions, credits, deductions, preferential rates, deferrals, and exclusions based on specific criteria in law.

Learn more about our process and find our studies on the performance audit page.