Regional and Local Government Authorities AOB Priorities 2010 2009 Regional planning, housing and development 600 608 Social welfare, youth welfare 501 504 Community affairs 365 393 Citizenship, voter register, traffic police 206 235 Regional finances, regional and local taxes 181 158 Regional and local roads 158 152 Health care system and veterinary sector 132 99 Trade & industry; energy 108 49 State Office of regional affiars, civil service law and civil service compensation law for regional and municipal employees 65 45 Agriculture and forestry, hunting and fishing laws 60 52 Education system, sports and cultural matters 49 92 37 36 25 33 0 2 2,487 2,458 Nature conservation and environmental protection, waste management Transport and traffic on regional and local roads (excl. traffic police) Science, research and the arts TOTAL As in recent years, in investigative proceedings at the regional and local level, various specific areas predominate. Foremost among them are regional planning and building law, areas in which Ombudswoman Gertrude Brinek and her division handled 600 investigative proceedings in 2010. While 2009 had already seen a dramatic increase in complaints relating to social welfare and youth welfare (an area handled by Ombudsman Peter Kostelka), in 2010 that figure remained high (501 investigative proceedings). Many of the investigative proceedings handled by Ombudswoman Terezija Stoisits related to citizenship issues. Monitoring priorities in the Federal States 11