Select Standing Committee on Public Accounts
The Select Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Public Accounts Committee, or PAC) is a committee of the Legislative Assembly.
PAC members
Parliamentary Committees (including PAC) are comprised of Members of the Legislative Assembly, usually excluding the Premier and other cabinet ministers. Committees have 10-12 members, and the membership mirrors (as closely as possible) party representation in the Legislative Assembly. The PAC Chair is a member of the opposition, while the Deputy Chair is a member of government.
What PAC does
PAC's mandate is to assist the Legislative Assembly to exercise parliamentary scrutiny over the executive branch and to hold the government accountable for its expenditure of public funds and its stewardship over public assets. Specifically:
- PAC may decide to examine the reports of the Auditor General, which are tabled through the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly. This forms the bulk of the committee's work.
- The public accounts for the province of British Columbia are laid before PAC.
- PAC reviews the retention and disposal applications of the Public Documents Committee approximately twice a year.
PAC and the Office of the Auditor General
PAC may decide to review any report from the Auditor General as part of its proceedings. When PAC chooses to review a report, it:
- invites the Auditor General to present the report;
- contacts the Office of the Comptroller General to coordinate attendance by the audited organization; and
- submits its own report to the Speaker annually, including which of the OAG's recommendations the Committee endorses.
