GAO's Protocols for Legal Decisions and Opinions

This document supersedes GAO-06-1064SP, Procedures and Practices for Legal Decisions and Opinions, September 2006. It contains the updated protocols governing the U.S. Government Accountability Office's (GAO) legal decisions and opinions. These protocols explain GAO's approach to rendering decisions and opinions, including how the Congress or federal agencies may request them and how GAO will develop the legal and factual record upon which they rely. Importantly, these protocols provide a consistent framework and transparent policies for issuing legal decisions and opinions. The resulting decisions and opinions, in turn, support the Congress's constitutional power of the purse and further congressional oversight.