Rep. Norm Thurston — Voting Record

Bill

Number

H.B. 419 (2022GS)

Sponsor

Rep. Peterson, K.

Final action

Governor Signed 3/24/2022

Outcome

Became law — signed by Gov. Spencer J. Cox

Summary

What it does

• This bill:
• requires the State Board of Education to designate, in writing, the responsibilities and powers of an audit committee established by the State Board of Education.

Every vote on this bill

Bill text

AUDIT COMMITTEE AUTHORITY AMENDMENTS
GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Karen M. Peterson
Senate Sponsor: 
Kathleen A. Riebe
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill modifies the responsibilities and powers of an audit committee established by
the State Board of Education.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
▸ requires the State Board of Education to designate, in writing, the responsibilities
and powers of an audit committee established by the State Board of Education.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
None
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
63I-5-301
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2016, Chapter 195
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section 
63I-5-301
 is amended to read:
63I-5-301.
Audit committee -- Powers and duties.
(1) (a) Each appointing authority may establish an audit committee to monitor the
activities of the agency internal audit program.
(b) An audit committee may serve more than one state agency internal audit program.
(2) The appointing authority shall ensure that audit committee members have the
expertise to provide effective oversight of and advice about internal audit activities and
services.
(3) [
If
] 
Except as provided in Subsection (4), if
 an audit committee has been
established, the audit committee shall:
(a) appoint, evaluate, and, if necessary, remove the agency internal audit director;
(b) prepare and adopt formal policies that define:
(i) the purpose of the agency's internal audit program; and
(ii) the authority and responsibility of the agency's internal auditors;
(c) ensure that policies adopted under Subsection (3)(b):
(i) do not place limitations on the scope of the internal audit program's work; and
(ii) clarify that an auditor does not have authority or responsibility for an activity that
the auditor audits;
(d) ensure that:
(i) the audit director employs a sufficient number of professional and support staff to
implement an effective internal audit program;
(ii) compensation, training, job tenure, and advancement of internal auditing staff is
based upon job performance;
(iii) the audit director and staff collectively possess the knowledge, skills, and
experience essential to the practices of the profession and are proficient in applying internal
auditing standards, procedures, and techniques;
(iv) the internal audit program has staff who are qualified in disciplines necessary to
meet the audit responsibilities, including accounting, business management, public
administration, human resource management, economics, finance, statistics, electronic data
processing, or engineering;
(v) internal audit staff are free of operational and management responsibilities that
would impair their ability to make independent audits of any aspects of the agency's operations;
(vi) the audit director and the internal audit staff have access to all personnel and
records, data, and other agency information that the audit director or staff consider necessary to
carry out their assigned duties; and
(vii) the audit director and internal audit staff have the necessary access to the agency
head, agency management, and agency staff;
(e) approve internal auditing policies proposed by the agency head or audit director;
(f) review and approve the annual internal audit plan, modifications to the internal
audit plan, risk assessment, and budget;
(g) review internal and external audit reports, follow-up reports, and quality assurance
reviews of the internal audit office; and
(h) periodically meet with the agency internal audit director to discuss pertinent
matters, including whether there are any restrictions on the scope of audits.
(4) In relation to an audit committee established by the State Board of Education, the
State Board of Education shall:
(a) designate, in writing, the responsibilities and powers described in Subsection (3)
that are held by the State Board of Education and the responsibilities and powers described in
Subsection (3) that are held by the audit committee; and
(b) make rules, in accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative
Rulemaking Act, for selecting the entity to be audited, determining the scope of the audit, and
determining the procedures to be used in conducting the audit, including due process
procedures.