01-22 14:00 S.B. 154
1
Legislative Audit Amendments
2025 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Brady Brammer
2
3
LONG TITLE
4
General Description:
5
This bill enacts provisions related to certain information and materials provided to the
6
legislative auditor general.
7
Highlighted Provisions:
8
This bill:
9
▸ restates the authority of the legislative auditor general;
10
▸ excludes certain information and communications obtained by the legislative auditor
11
general from the definition of "record";
12
▸ requires a lawyer to provide information, materials, or resources relating to the
13
representation of an entity; and
14
▸ makes technical corrections.
15
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
16
None
17
Other Special Clauses:
18
None
19
Utah Code Sections Affected:
20
AMENDS:
21
36-12-15, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2024, Third Special Session, Chapter 3
22
23
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
24
Section 1. Section 36-12-15 is amended to read:
25
36-12-15 . Office of the Legislative Auditor General established -- Qualifications
26
-- Powers, functions, and duties -- Reporting -- Criminal penalty -- Employment.
27
(1) As used in this section:
28
(a) "Audit action" means an audit, examination, investigation, or review of an entity
29
conducted by the office.
30
(b) "Entity" means:
31
(i) a government organization; or S.B. 154 01-22 14:00
32
(ii) a receiving organization.
33
(c) "Government organization" means:
34
(i) a state branch, department, or agency; or
35
(ii) a political subdivision, including a county, municipality, special district, special
36
service district, school district, interlocal entity as defined in Section 11-13-103,
37
or any other local government unit.
38
(d) "Office" means the Office of the Legislative Auditor General.
39
(e) "Receiving organization" means an organization that receives public funds that is not
40
a government organization.
41
(2)(a) There is created the Office of the Legislative Auditor General as a permanent staff
42
office for the Legislature.
43
(b) The authority of the legislative auditor general is:
44
(i) established in Utah Constitution, Article VI, Section 33; and
45
(ii) an extension of the Legislature's inherent inquiry and investigatory power.
46
(3) The legislative auditor general shall be a licensed certified public accountant or certified
47
internal auditor with at least seven years of experience in the auditing or public
48
accounting profession, or the equivalent, prior to appointment.
49
(4) The legislative auditor general shall appoint and develop a professional staff within
50
budget limitations.
51
(5) The office shall exercise the constitutional authority provided in Utah Constitution,
52
Article VI, Section 33.
53
(6) Under the direction of the legislative auditor general, the office shall:
54
(a) conduct comprehensive and special purpose audits, examinations, investigations, or
55
reviews of entity funds, functions, and accounts;
56
(b) prepare and submit a written report on each audit action to the Audit Subcommittee
57
created in Section 36-12-8 and make the report available to all members of the
58
Legislature within 75 days after the audit action is completed;
59
(c) monitor, conduct a risk assessment of, or audit any efficiency evaluations that the
60
legislative auditor general determines necessary, in accordance with Title 63J,
61
Chapter 1, Part 9, Government Performance Reporting and Efficiency Process, and
62
legislative rule;
63
(d) create, manage, and report to the Audit Subcommittee a list of high risk programs
64
and operations that:
65
(i) threaten public funds or programs;
- 2 - 01-22 14:00 S.B. 154
66
(ii) are vulnerable to inefficiency, waste, fraud, abuse, or mismanagement; or
67
(iii) require transformation;
68
(e) monitor and report to the Audit Subcommittee the health of a government
69
organization's internal audit functions;
70
(f) make recommendations to increase the independence and value added of internal
71
audit functions throughout the state;
72
(g) implement a process to track, monitor, and report whether the subject of an audit has
73
implemented recommendations made in the audit report;
74
(h) establish, train, and maintain individuals within the office to conduct investigations
75
and represent themselves as lawful investigators on behalf of the office;
76
(i) establish policies, procedures, methods, and standards of audit work and
77
investigations for the office and staff;
78
(j) prepare and submit each audit and investigative report independent of any influence
79
external of the office, including the content of the report, the conclusions reached in
80
the report, and the manner of disclosing the legislative auditor general's findings;
81
(k) prepare and submit the annual budget request for the office; and
82
(l) perform other duties as prescribed by the Legislature.
83
(7) In conducting an audit action of an entity, the office may include a determination of any
84
or all of the following:
85
(a) the honesty and integrity of any of the entity's fiscal affairs;
86
(b) the accuracy and reliability of the entity's internal control systems and specific
87
financial statements and reports;
88
(c) whether or not the entity's financial controls are adequate and effective to properly
89
record and safeguard the entity's acquisition, custody, use, and accounting of public
90
funds;
91
(d) whether the entity's administrators have complied with legislative intent;
92
(e) whether the entity's operations have been conducted in an efficient, effective, and
93
cost efficient manner;
94
(f) whether the entity's programs have been effective in accomplishing intended
95
objectives; and
96
(g) whether the entity's management control and information systems are adequate and
97
effective.
98
(8)(a) If requested by the office, each entity that the legislative auditor general is
99
authorized to audit under Utah Constitution, Article VI, Section 33, or this section
- 3 - S.B. 154 01-22 14:00
100
shall, notwithstanding any other provision of law except as provided in Subsection
101
(8)(b), provide the office with access to information, materials, or resources the office
102
determines are necessary to conduct an audit, examination, investigation, or review,
103
including:
104
(i) the following in the possession or custody of the entity in the format identified by
105
the office:
106
(A) a record, document, and report; and
107
(B) films, tapes, recordings, and electronically stored information;
108
(ii) entity personnel; and
109
(iii) each official or unofficial recording of formal or informal meetings or
110
conversations to which the entity has access.
111
(b) To the extent compliance would violate federal law, the requirements of Subsection
112
(8)(a) do not apply.
113
(9)(a) In carrying out the duties provided for in this section and under Utah Constitution,
114
Article VI, Section 33, the legislative auditor general may issue a subpoena to access
115
information, materials, or resources in accordance with Chapter 14, Legislative
116
Subpoena Powers.
117
(b) The legislative auditor general may issue a subpoena, as described in Subsection
118
(9)(a), to a financial institution or any other entity to obtain information as part of an
119
investigation of fraud, waste, or abuse, including any suspected malfeasance,
120
misfeasance, or nonfeasance involving public funds.
121
(10) To preserve the professional integrity and independence of the office:
122
(a) no legislator or public official may urge the appointment of any person to the office;
123
and
124
(b) the legislative auditor general may not be appointed to serve on any board, authority,
125
commission, or other agency of the state during the legislative auditor general's term
126
as legislative auditor general.
127
(11)(a) The following records in the custody or control of the legislative auditor general
128
are protected records under Title 63G, Chapter 2, Government Records Access and
129
Management Act:
130
(i) records and audit work papers that would disclose information relating to
131
allegations of personal misconduct, gross mismanagement, or illegal activity of a
132
past or present governmental employee if the information or allegation cannot be
133
corroborated by the legislative auditor general through other documents or
- 4 - 01-22 14:00 S.B. 154
134
evidence, and the records relating to the allegation are not relied upon by the
135
legislative auditor general in preparing a final audit report;
136
(ii) records and audit workpapers that would disclose the identity of a person who,
137
during the course of a legislative audit, communicated the existence of:
138
(A) unethical behavior;
139
(B) waste of public funds, property, or personnel; or
140
(C) a violation or suspected violation of a United States, Utah state, or political
141
subdivision law, rule, ordinance, or regulation, if the person disclosed on the
142
condition that the identity of the person be protected;
143
(iii) before an audit is completed and the final audit report is released, records or
144
drafts circulated to a person who is not an employee or head of an entity for
145
review, response, or information;
146
(iv) records that would disclose:
147
(A) an outline;
148
(B) all or part of an audit survey, audit risk assessment plan, or audit program; or
149
(C) other procedural documents necessary to fulfill the duties of the office; and
150
(v) requests for audits, if disclosure would risk circumvention of an audit.
151
(b) The provisions of Subsection (11)(a) do not prohibit the disclosure of records or
152
information to a government prosecutor or peace officer if those records or
153
information relate to a violation of the law by an entity or entity employee.
154
(c) A record, as defined in Section 63G-2-103, created by the office in a closed meeting
155
held in accordance with Section 52-4-205:
156
(i) is a protected record, as defined in Section 63G-2-103;
157
(ii) to the extent the record contains information:
158
(A) described in Section 63G-2-302, is a private record; or
159
(B) described in Section 63G-2-304, is a controlled record; and
160
(iii) may not be reclassified by the office.
161
(d) The provisions of this section do not limit the authority otherwise given to the
162
legislative auditor general to maintain the private, controlled, or protected record
163
status of a shared record in the legislative auditor general's possession or classify a
164
document as public, private, controlled, or protected under Title 63G, Chapter 2,
165
Government Records Access and Management Act.
166
(e) The following are not a record, as defined in Section 63G-2-103, if provided to the
167
legislative auditor general:
- 5 - S.B. 154 01-22 14:00
168
(i) information that is privileged or prepared in anticipation of litigation or for trial
169
under Utah Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 26; and
170
(ii) a communication that is privileged under Utah Rules of Evidence, Rule 504.
171
(12) If requested by the legislative auditor general, a lawyer:
172
(a) shall provide information, materials, or resources relating to the representation of an
173
entity; and
174
(b) is expressly authorized to do so under Utah Code of Judicial Administration 13-1.6
175
(b)(6).
176
[(12)] (13) The legislative auditor general shall:
177
(a) be available to the Legislature and to the Legislature's committees for consultation on
178
matters relevant to areas of the legislative auditor general's professional competence;
179
(b) conduct special audits as requested by the Audit Subcommittee;
180
(c) report immediately to the Audit Subcommittee any apparent violation of penal
181
statutes disclosed by the audit of an entity and furnish to the Audit Subcommittee all
182
information relative to the apparent violation;
183
(d) report immediately to the Audit Subcommittee any apparent instances of
184
malfeasance or nonfeasance by an entity officer or employee disclosed by the audit of
185
an entity; and
186
(e) make any recommendations to the Audit Subcommittee with respect to the alteration
187
or improvement of the accounting system used by an entity.
188
[(13)] (14) If the legislative auditor general conducts an audit of an entity that has
189
previously been audited and finds that the entity has not implemented a recommendation
190
made by the legislative auditor general in a previous audit report, the legislative auditor
191
general shall report to the Audit Subcommittee that the entity has not implemented the
192
recommendation.
193
[(14)] (15) Before each annual general session, the legislative auditor general shall:
194
(a) prepare an annual report that:
195
(i) summarizes the audits, examinations, investigations, and reviews conducted by the
196
office since the last annual report; and
197
(ii) evaluate and report the degree to which an entity that has been the subject of an
198
audit has implemented the audit recommendations;
199
(b) include in the report any items and recommendations that the legislative auditor
200
general believes the Legislature should consider in the annual general session; and
201
(c) deliver the report to the Legislature and to the appropriate committees of the
- 6 - 01-22 14:00 S.B. 154
202
Legislature.
203
[(15)] (16)(a) If the chief officer of an entity has actual knowledge or reasonable cause to
204
believe that there is misappropriation of the entity's public funds or assets, or another
205
entity officer has actual knowledge or reasonable cause to believe that the chief
206
officer is misappropriating the entity's public funds or assets, the chief officer or,
207
alternatively, the other entity officer, shall immediately notify, in writing:
208
(i) the office;
209
(ii) the attorney general, county attorney, or district attorney; and
210
(iii)(A) for a state government organization, the chief executive officer;
211
(B) for a political subdivision government organization, the legislative body or
212
governing board; or
213
(C) for a receiving organization, the governing board or chief executive officer
214
unless the chief executive officer is believed to be misappropriating the funds
215
or assets, in which case the next highest officer of the receiving organization.
216
(b) As described in Subsection [(15)(a)] (16)(a), the entity chief officer or, if applicable,
217
another entity officer, is subject to the protections of Title 67, Chapter 21, Utah
218
Protection of Public Employees Act.
219
(c) If the Office of the Legislative Auditor General receives a notification under
220
Subsection [(15)(a)] (16)(a) or other information of misappropriation of public funds
221
or assets of an entity, the office shall inform the Audit Subcommittee.
222
(d) The attorney general, county attorney, or district attorney shall notify, in writing, the
223
Office of the Legislative Auditor General whether the attorney general, county
224
attorney, or district attorney pursued criminal or civil sanctions in the matter.
225
[(16)] (17)(a) An actor commits interference with a legislative audit if the actor uses
226
force, violence, intimidation, or engages in any other unlawful act with a purpose to
227
interfere with:
228
(i) a legislative audit action; or
229
(ii) the office's decisions relating to:
230
(A) the content of the office's report;
231
(B) the conclusions reached in the office's report; or
232
(C) the manner of disclosing the results and findings of the office.
233
(b) A violation of Subsection [(16)(a)] (17)(a) is a class B misdemeanor.
234
[(17)] (18)(a) The office may require any current employee, or any applicant for
235
employment, to submit to a fingerprint-based local, regional, and criminal history
- 7 - S.B. 154 01-22 14:00
236
background check as an ongoing condition of employment.
237
(b) An employee or applicant for employment shall provide a completed fingerprint card
238
to the office upon request.
239
(c) The office shall require that an individual required to submit to a background check
240
under this Subsection [(17)] (18) also provide a signed waiver on a form provided by
241
the office that meets the requirements of Subsection 53-10-108(4).
242
(d) For a noncriminal justice background search and registration in accordance with
243
Subsection 53-10-108(13), the office shall submit to the Bureau of Criminal
244
Identification:
245
(i) the employee's or applicant's personal identifying information and fingerprints for
246
a criminal history search of applicable local, regional, and national databases; and
247
(ii) a request for all information received as a result of the local, regional, and
248
nationwide background check.
249
[(18)] (19) Subject to prioritization of the Legislative Audit Subcommittee, the Office of the
250
Legislative Auditor General shall conduct a feasibility study under Section 53G-3-301.1,
251
53G-3-301.3, or 53G-3-301.4.
252
Section 2. Effective Date.
253
This bill takes effect on May 7, 2025.
- 8 -