COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 2047
(By Delegates Love and Thomas)
(originating in the House Committee on Finance.)
[February 28, 1995]
A BILL to amend and reenact section fourteen, article four,
chapter twelve of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to audits of
volunteer fire departments receiving state funds or grants
in the amount of fifteen thousand dollars or more; providing
that the volunteer fire department may satisfy the audit
requirement by submitting a sworn statement of expenditures
which is made under oath and acknowledged before a notary
public; making it a felony to file such a sworn statement of
expenditures which is fraudulent, misleading or
intentionally inaccurate; and prescribing criminal
penalties.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section fourteen, article four, chapter twelve of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 4. ACCOUNTS, REPORTS AND GENERAL PROVISIONS.
ยง12-4-14. Audits of corporations, associations or other
organizations which receive state funds or grants.
Any corporation, association or other organization in West
Virginia, whether nonprofit or for profit, which receives state
funds or grants in the amount of fifteen thousand dollars or more
shall file an audit of the disbursement of funds with the
legislative auditor's office. The audit shall be filed within
two years of the disbursement of funds or grants by the grantee
and shall be made by an independent certified public accountant
at the cost of the corporation, association or other
organization, and must show that the funds or grants were spent
for the purposes intended when the grant was made. State funds
or audits of state funds or grants under fifteen thousand dollars
may be authorized by the joint committee on government and
finance to be conducted by the legislative auditor's office, at
no cost to the grantee: Provided, That volunteer fire
departments will satisfy the audit requirements of this section
by submitting a sworn statement of annual expenditures the
legislative auditor's office along with a filing fee of seventy-
five dollars on or before the fourteenth day of February of each
year, if such volunteer fire department elects not to be audited.
The sworn statement of expenditures must be signed by the chief or director of the volunteer fire department, and shall be made
under oath and acknowledged before a notary public. The office
of the legislative auditor may assign an employee or employees to
perform random audits of the disbursement of funds or grants to
volunteer fire departments. Any person who files a fraudulent,
misleading or intentionally inaccurate sworn statement of
expenditures under this section is guilty of a felony, and upon
conviction thereof shall be fined not less than one thousand
dollars and not more than five thousand dollars, or imprisoned in
the state penitentiary for a period of time not less than one
year nor more than five years, or both such fine and
imprisonment.