What is Oversight?

In most states and in our federal government, legislative oversight investigations happen when a problem arises that needs to be solved or addressed. In a lot of cases, legislators conduct oversight investigations because they want to hold someone accountable for what happened. Sometimes they hold other parts of the government accountable, but they may also hold private entities like companies or individuals accountable as well. Often, holding someone or something accountable means drafting legislation that stops the situation from happening again. Other times, legislators can only publicly condemn what happened and ask for a criminal investigation. The outcome of each oversight investigation depends on the people involved and the subject matter being investigated.