ARIZONA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Fifty-fourth Legislature

Second Regular Session

House: GOV DP 11-0-0-0

HB 2115: JLAC; auditor general.

Sponsor:  Representative Kern, LD 20

House Engrossed

Overview

Makes various changes to statutes relating to the Auditor General and the Joint Legislative Audit Committee (JLAC).

History

The Arizona Auditor General is appointed by JLAC, subject to approval by a concurrent resolution of the Legislature, to perform sunset, performance, special and financial audits and investigations (A.R.S. § 41-1279.01).

JLAC is charged with overseeing all audit functions of the Legislature and state agencies and requiring state agencies to comply with audit findings and directions. JLAC consists of five members of the House of Representatives, appointed by the Speaker of the House and five members of the Senate, appointed by the President of the Senate (A.R.S. § 41-1279).

Provisions

Auditor General Powers and Duties

1.    ☐ Prop 105 (45 votes) ☐ Prop 108 (40 votes) ☐ Emergency (40 votes) ☐ Fiscal NoteSpecifies that the Auditor General must follow requirements prescribed by the Department of Public Safety when disclosing information about the criminal history of an employee to the staff of the Auditor General for purposes of employment of personnel by the Auditor General. (Sec. 6)

2.    Removes the requirement of the Auditor General to annually prepare a written report to the Governor and JLAC that contains a summary of activities for the previous fiscal year. (Sec. 7)

3.    Directs the Auditor General to conduct a performance audit of counties with a transportation excise tax in the fifth year, instead of the tenth year. (Sec. 7)

Access to Records

4.    Instructs all officers in any state agency, board, commission, department, institution, program, advisory council, committee, political subdivision and contractors with the state to afford reasonable and needed facilities for the Auditor General and make records available in the form at the time prescribed. (Sec. 8)

5.    Specifies that the Attorney General must supervise the prosecution of offenders refusing or failing to provide access and examination of records. (Sec. 8)

6.    Makes knowingly obstructing or misleading the Auditor General a class 2 misdemeanor. (Sec. 8)

7.    Repeals the duty of local officers to make county, community college and school district records available. (Sec. 13)

Reporting Requirements

8.    Eliminates the requirement that the uniform expenditure reporting system include a reconciliation of expenditures reported within financial statements to the expenditure limitation report of a community college district. (Sec. 10)

9.    Removes the requirement that the expenditure information, exclusions from local revenues and expenditures subject to the expenditure limitation in a community college district annual expenditure limitation report be by fund. (Sec. 10)

Federal Single Audit

10.  Requires the Auditor General to conduct or cause to be conducted financial and compliance audits of state agencies in compliance to the federal single audit requirement annually instead of every other year. (Sec. 7)

11.  Eliminates the requirement that the Auditor General conduct an annual compliance audit for all counties and instead, for a county that is subject to the federal single audit requirement:

a)    Requires compliance audits of financial transactions and applicable accounts kept by or for the county;

b)    Stipulates that the audit must be conducted in accordance with generally accepted governmental auditing standards; and

c)    Incorporate the inclusion of tests of the accounting records and other auditing procedures as may be considered necessary under the circumstances. (Sec. 12)

12.  For a community college district subject to the federal single audit requirement:

a)    Requires compliance audits of financial transactions and applicable accounts kept by or for the community college district;

b)    Requires the audit to be conducted in accordance with generally accepted governmental auditing standards; and

c)    Requires the inclusion of tests of the accounting records and other auditing procedures as may be considered necessary under the circumstances. (Sec. 12)

School District Audits

13.  Instructs audited school districts to submit written reports to the Auditor General at the request of the Auditor General within two years following an audit of the district, instead of every six months for two years. (Sec. 7)

14.  Requires the Auditor General to provide status reports of the progress of a school district in implementing audit recommendations to JLAC within the two-year period following an audit, instead of every six months for two years. (Sec. 7)

15.  Removes the requirement that the school district performance audits determine whether school districts that receive money from the Arizona English Language Learner Fund follow statute regarding English language education for children in public schools. (Sec. 7)

County Transportation Excise Tax Audits

16.  Directs the County Treasurer of a county with an approved county transportation excise tax to cooperate with and provide necessary information to the Auditor General. (Sec. 7)

17.  Requires the County Treasurer to reimburse the Audit Services Revolving Fund from transportation excise tax revenues for the costs related to conducting a performance audit of a county transportation excise tax. (Sec. 7)  

18.  Lists money received from federal audits of federal funds, county excise tax performance audits and any other source authorized by statute as sources of revenue in the Audit Services Revolving Fund. (Sec. 9)

Sunset Review Reports

19.  Revises factors in determining the need for continuation or termination of an agency during sunset review reports. (Sec. 14)

20.  Modifies information provided by the agency in the final sunset review report. (Sec. 14)

Miscellaneous

21.  Modifies the definition of performance audit. (Sec. 5)

22.  Requires the Joint Legislative Budget Committee staff to notify the Legislature of the cost to conduct a special audit as soon as practicable. (Sec. 7)

23.  Allows the Auditor General or their authorized representatives access to employees in the performance of official duties. (Sec. 8)

24.  Makes technical and conforming changes. (Sec. 1-9, 11, 12, 14)

 

 

 

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Initials SJ              House Engrossed

 

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