Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability

Last updated
Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability
Old and New Florida State Capitol, Tallahassee, East view 20160711 1.jpg
Agency overview
FormedJuly 1, 1994
Headquarters111 West Madison Street, Suite 312
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1475
Agency executive
  • Kara Collins-Gomez, Coordinator
Website www.oppaga.state.fl.us

The Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA) is the research arm of the Florida Legislature. OPPAGA supports the Florida Legislature by providing data, evaluative research, and objective analyses to support legislative budget and policy deliberations. State law (substantive legislation or budget proviso), legislative leadership (Senate President and Speaker of the House), and the Joint Legislative Auditing Committee determine OPPAGA's research. OPPAGA operates under the guidance of a coordinator who is selected by the presiding officers.

Contents

History

In 1994, the Florida Legislature removed the program evaluation unit from the Florida Auditor General and created OPPAGA to help improve the performance and accountability of state government. [1] Since then, OPPAGA has provided research services to the Legislature, including producing over 1,300 published reports. [2]

Services

OPPAGA provides a variety of research services to the Legislature, including the following.

At the direction of the Legislature, OPPAGA may research all aspects of state government, conducting the work through four policy areas – Criminal and Civil Justice; Education; Government Operations; and Health and Human Services. A staff director manages each policy area. [7] The following list provides examples of recent published reports completed by each policy area.

Presentations

Legislative committees may invite OPPAGA to present its research findings during public meetings. [8] The following list provides examples of recent presentations from each policy area.

Similar agencies

The federal Government Accountability Office (GAO) is the audit, evaluation, and investigative arm of the United States Congress.

At the state level, there are offices similar to OPPAGA, but the organizational placement of these offices varies by state. For example, like Florida, some states have evaluation offices that operate as separate legislative units. [9] Almost half of the states have evaluation offices that are part of the legislative auditor’s office, while only a few states have evaluation offices within a legislative oversight or other committee. [10] These  organizations include the following.

State legislative evaluation offices network through the National Legislative Program Evaluation Society to share ideas for improving government operations. [11]

References

PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from https://oppaga.fl.gov/Documents/Reports/23-04.pdf, a public domain work of the Government of Florida. Descriptions may have been copied from other Government of Florida documents as well.

  1. Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability. (n.d.). About OPPAGA. Retrieved June 24, 2025.
  2. Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability. (n.d.). OPPAGA Reports. Retrieved June 24, 2025.
  3. OPPAGA Reports
  4. OPPAGA Government Program Summaries
  5. OPPAGA PolicyNotes
  6. OPPAGA Contract Reviews
  7. OPPAGA Key Contacts by Area
  8. Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability. (n.d.). OPPAGA Presentations. Retrieved June 24, 2025.
  9. National Conference of State Legislatures & National Legislative Program Evaluation Society (2019). "Who We Are and What We Do: A National Survey of State Legislative Program Evaluation/ Performance Audit Programs" (PDF).
  10. Program Evaluation Division of the North Carolina General Assembly (2019). "Who We Are and What We Do: Legislative Assistant Guide to the Program Evaluation Division" (PDF).
  11. https://www.ncsl.org/legislative-staff/nlpes