Rep. Norm Thurston — Voting Record

Bill

Number

S.B. 160 (2021GS)

Sponsor

Sen. Buxton, D. G.

Final action

Governor Signed 3/17/2021

Outcome

Became law — signed by Gov. Spencer J. Cox

Summary

What it does

• This bill:
• authorizes the legislative auditor general to perform appropriation audits of executive branch entities and local education agencies; and
• clarifies requirements for audit content and procedures.

Every vote on this bill

Bill text

STATE AUDIT AMENDMENTS
GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: David G. Buxton
House Sponsor: 
James A. Dunnigan
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill modifies provisions on legislative budget and appropriation audits.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
▸ authorizes the legislative auditor general to perform appropriation audits of
executive branch entities and local education agencies; and
▸ clarifies requirements for audit content and procedures.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
None
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
36-12-15.1
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2015, Chapter 118
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section 
36-12-15.1
 is amended to read:
36-12-15.1.
Budget and appropriation audits.
(1) As used in this section, "entity" means
:
(a)
 an entity in the executive branch that receives an ongoing line item appropriation in
an appropriations act
; and
(b) any local education agency, as defined in Section 
53E-1-102
, that receives public
funds
.
[
(2) The Office of Legislative Auditor General shall:
]
[
(a) each year perform an audit of at least one entity's appropriations, in addition to
other audits performed by the Office of Legislative Auditor General, that evaluates:
]
(2) (a) Each year, subject to the availability of work capacity and the discretion of the
Legislative Audit Committee, the Office of Legislative Auditor General may, in addition to
other audits performed by the office, perform:
(i) an audit of one or more executive branch entity's appropriations; and
(ii) an audit of one or more local education agency's appropriations.
(b) An audit performed pursuant to Subsection (2)(a) shall, as is appropriate for each
individual audit:
(i) 
evaluate
 the extent to which the entity has efficiently and effectively used the
appropriation by identifying:
(A) the entity's appropriation history;
(B) the entity's spending and efficiency history; and
(C) historic trends in the entity's operational performance effectiveness;
(ii) 
evaluate
 whether the entity's size and operation are commensurate with the entity's
spending history; [
and
]
(iii) 
evaluate
 whether the entity is diligent in its stewardship of state resources;
(iv) provide an in-depth analysis review of the entity's operations performance
improvements;
[
(b)
] 
(v)
 if possible, incorporate the audit methodology [
described in Subsection (2)(a)
in
] 
of
 other audits performed by the Office of Legislative Auditor General; 
and
[
(c)
] 
(vi)
 [
conduct the audits described in Subsection (2)(a) according
] 
be conducted
according
 to the process established for the Audit Subcommittee created in Section 
36-12-8
[
;
]
.
[
(d) after release of
] 
(c) After releasing
 an audit report [
by
] 
pursuant to Subsection
(2)(a),
 the Audit Subcommittee[
,
] 
shall
 make the audit report available to:
(i) each member of the Senate and the House of Representatives; and
(ii) the governor or the governor's designee[
; and
]
.
[
(e)
] 
(d) The Office of Legislative Auditor General shall
 summarize the findings of an
audit described in Subsection (2)(a) in:
(i) a unique section of the legislative auditor general's annual report; and
(ii) a format that the legislative fiscal analyst may use in preparation of the annual
appropriations no later than 30 days before the day on which the Legislature convenes.
(3) The Office of Legislative Auditor General shall consult with the legislative fiscal
analyst in preparing the summary required by Subsection (2)[
(e)
]
(d)
.
(4) The Legislature, in evaluating an entity's request for an increase in its base budget,
shall:
(a) review the audit report required by this section and any relevant audits; and
(b) consider the entity's request for an increase in its base budget in light of the entity's
prior history of savings and efficiencies as evidenced by the audit report required by this
section.