SF1772

This bill proposes several modifications to Minnesota's policies regarding the Legislative Auditor. Key points of the bill include:

1. Legislative Auditor’s Staff and Divisions:

   • Establishes a Special Reviews Division in addition to the Financial Audits Division and Program Evaluation Division.
   • Allows for each division to be supervised by a deputy auditor appointed by the Legislative Auditor with commission approval.
   • Sets requirements for the Financial Audits Division Deputy Auditor to hold an active Certified Public Accountant (CPA) license.
   • Prohibits employees of the Legislative Auditor's office from running for partisan elected public office.

2. Special Reviews:

   • Expands the reasons for conducting special reviews, including investigations into legal compliance, improper use of public money, follow-ups on previous reviews, and legislative requests.

3. Reporting Requirements:

   • Requires designated officers within organizations subject to audit to promptly notify the Legislative Auditor of any misuse of public funds or improper access to restricted government data.
   • Defines "obligated officers" required to report such incidents.

4. Audit Powers:

   • Grants the Legislative Auditor authority to request and review data from state information systems without needing approval from affected entities.
   • Establishes that certain data provided by legislators or their staff to the Legislative Auditor can be classified as private or nonpublic.

5. Mandatory Reporting Policy:

   • Requires state agencies to ensure that concerns about misuse of public funds or data are directed to designated officers or the Office of the Legislative Auditor.
   • Directs the Commissioner of Management and Budget to create a standardized policy for these reports across state agencies.

6. Repeal of Section 16B.45:

   • Eliminates a statute that previously allowed the Legislative Auditor to conduct performance evaluations of government information systems and computerization efforts.

In summary, the bill strengthens the powers and structure of the Legislative Auditor’s office, expands reporting requirements, ensures standardization of misconduct reporting, and repeals an outdated function related to technology audits.