The following is excerpted from an editorial that appeared Tuesday in The Olympian of Olympia.

Twenty years ago, state auditors questioned whether ferry system officials were properly handling and accounting for passenger fares.

Practically every year since 1986, state auditors have renewed their concerns over the collection of farebox receipts. Every year, ferry officials say they are working on it or have fixed the problems, and the next year the auditors are back with the same criticism. …

Twenty years of repeat findings is ludicrous. State officials simply aren’t taking the adverse audit reports seriously. They will do so only if lawmakers hold hearings and tie future agency funding to sound bookkeeping and accounting practices.

The ferry system should be the poster child for reform. Just last week, three state ferry ticket sellers were arrested and charged with third-degree theft – accused of pocketing fares paid by passengers. State Patrol investigators said the three took $1,800 among them during a two-month period in 2004. The three state employees were fired before charges were filed.

Ferry officials say a new electronic fare system will help reduce the opportunity for theft. Great. But why did it take 20 years to correct the problem? Who knows how much money has been stolen in the past two decades?

The ferry system, however, is not alone.

Consider the recent audit of the state Medicaid system. Auditors questioned $1 billion – that’s billion with a “b” – in spending. Auditors said the expenditures were either not properly documented or spent on questionable services. …

Again, where’s the legislative oversight? And what about the state Office of Financial Management, which has the job of making sure agencies correct their mistakes? Neither the Legislature nor the state budget office is providing the oversight the public expects.

How will lawmakers react to the adverse audit findings for the Department of Labor and Industries? The agency cannot account for 100 digital cameras, laptop computers and camcorders. Its pension program paid $254,000 in benefits to six people who were dead. The agency paid $18 million to claimants who didn’t file proper forms. Those are just some of the findings of auditors.

Mindy Chambers, spokeswoman for the state auditor’s office … concedes that not all state agencies respond to audit findings with corrective action. “Some agencies respond very well and make changes. Others do not,” Chambers said.

That’s when the state budget office and Legislature need to step in.

If budget officers can’t get compliance, agency directors should be hauled before the appropriate legislative committee and sharply questioned about spending and accounting practices. Shining the public spotlight on the problems, coupled with threats to withhold future funding, should get the attention of most appointed and elected officials. …