Stokes (HB 482) Act No. 255
Existing law grants the legislative auditor the authority to compile financial statements and
to examine, audit, or review the books and accounts of auditees. For local auditees, provides
that their financial statements shall be audited or reviewed by licensed certified public
accountants but may be audited by the legislative auditor under certain conditions. Defines
"auditees" as the state treasurer, all public boards, commissions, agencies, departments,
political subdivisions of the state, public officials and employees, specified public retirement
systems, municipalities, and all other public or quasi public agencies or bodies. Defines
"local auditees" as independently elected public local officials, including judges, sheriffs,
clerks of court, assessors, and district attorneys, all parish governing authorities and all
districts, boards, and commissions created by parish governing authorities either
independently or in conjunction with other units of government, school boards, district public
defender offices, municipalities, and all boards and commissions created by municipalities,
either independently or in conjunction with other units of government, city courts, quasi
public agencies, housing authorities, mortgage authorities, or other political subdivisions of
the state not included within the state's Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports.
Existing law defines the crime of malfeasance in office and provides criminal penalties
including imprisonment for not more than five years with or without hard labor, a fine of not
more than $5,000, or both. Further provides that a person convicted of malfeasance in office
may be ordered to pay restitution to the state if the state suffered a loss as a result of the
offense.
New law provides that if the type of audit report received by a local auditee from a licensed
certified public accountant for three consecutive years is a disclaimer of opinion as defined
by Generally Accepted Auditing Standards, the same person has served as agency head of
the local auditee for those three consecutive years, and the legislative auditor determines that
the agency head willfully failed to provide or maintain the necessary records to conduct the
audit, then the three audit reports shall be evidence of malfeasance in office by the agency
head.
Effective August 1, 2013.
(Adds R.S. 24:518(D))