The state auditor should be empowered to use performance audits to benefit transparency of government and establish accountability of local and state agencies.

This page has never endorsed an initiative offered by Tim Eyman. But there is a first time, and his Initiative 900 makes a great deal of sense.

I-900 would permit the elected state auditor to look at any state and local agency in Washington. The auditor would determine whether they were providing services not needed, whether services that are needed could be made more efficient.

The current auditor, Brian Sonntag, a Democrat, has been wanting such authority for years. Many times, he said, his auditors have been on the track of something interesting and have had to give it up because it crossed the line from finance to performance. Now, they can keep probing.

Sonntag likes I-900. "I think we will do a very good job with it," he says.

Two questions arise. First is whether I-900 is necessary. The state has a performance-audit law already, passed this year. But it is not as strong as I-900 nor as useful. It does not include local agencies such as school districts and Sound Transit, which I-900 does. Also, the existing law requires the auditor to consult with a council appointed by the governor. I-900 gives full authority to the auditor. The existing law gives the auditor $2.8 million for the first two years. I-900 provides $20 million — enough to do more-thorough work.

The second question is whether the increased power for the auditor is a good thing. It is only the power to investigate and publish, never the power to command, but it does amount to a transformation of the office.

The public-spirited Sonntag, endorsed by everyone from the Women's Political Caucus to the Gun Owners' Action League, won his last election with 64 percent of the vote, the largest majority of any statewide office. I-900 will tend to make him a figure of greater controversy. Those who seek the office in the future will make an issue of what he audited and what he didn't, and the wisdom of what he said.

He wants it, and the state stands to benefit from it. Let's let him do it.

Vote for I-900.