SB377 SUB1 COMMITTTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 377
(By Senators Sprouse and Ross)
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[Originating in the Committee on Finance;
reported March 5, 1998.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section ten, article three, chapter
five-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended; and to amend and reenact
section seven, article nine, chapter six of said code, all
relating to requiring all governmental and school board
audits to be competitively bid.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section ten, article three, chapter five-a of the code
of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted; and that section seven,
article nine, chapter six of said code be amended and reenacted,
all to read as follows:
Chapter 5A. DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATION.
ARTICLE 3. PURCHASING DIVISION.
§5A-3-10. Competitive bids; publication of solicitations for
sealed bids; purchase of products of nonprofit workshops; employee to assist in dealings with nonprofit workshops.
(a)A purchase of and contract for commodities, printing and
services shall be based, whenever possible, on competitive bids.
(b)The director shall solicit sealed bids for the purchase of
commodities, and printing and services, including the services of
any accountant to audit any agency of state government, which
when the prospective purchase of those commodities, printing or
services is estimated to exceed ten thousand dollars. No
spending unit shall issue a series of requisitions which would
circumvent this ten thousand dollar maximum. The director may
permit bids by facsimile transmission machine to be accepted in
lieu of sealed bids: Provided, That an original bid is received
within two working days following the date specified for bid
opening. Bids shall be obtained by public notice. The notice
may be published by any advertising medium the director deems
considers advisable. The director may also solicit sealed bids
by sending requests by mail to prospective suppliers and by
posting notice on a bulletin board in his or her office: Provided, however, That the director shall, without competitive
bidding, purchase commodities and printing produced and offered
for sale by nonprofit workshops, as defined in section one,
article one of this chapter, which are located in this state:
Provided further, That such the commodities and printing shall be
of a fair market price and of like quality comparable to other
commodities and printing otherwise available as determined by the
director with the advice of the committee on the purchase of
commodities and services from the handicapped.
(c)Toward the end of effecting the making of contracts for
commodities and printing of nonprofit workshops, the director
shall employ a person whose responsibilities in addition to other
duties shall be to identify all commodities and printing
available for purchase from such the nonprofit workshops, to
evaluate the need of the state for such the commodities and
printing to coordinate the various nonprofit workshops in their
production efforts and to make available to such those workshops
information about available opportunities within state government
for the purchase of commodities or printing which might be
produced and sold by such the workshops. Funds to employ such
that a person shall be included annually in the budget.
CHAPTER 6. GENERAL PROVISIONS RESPECTING OFFICERS.
ARTICLE 9. SUPERVISION OF PUBLIC OFFICES.
§6-9-7. Examinations into affairs of local public officers.
(a) The chief inspector shall have power by himself or
herself, or by any person appointed by him or her to perform the
service, to examine into all financial affairs of every local
governmental office or political subdivision and all boards,
commissions, authorities, agencies or other offices created under
authority thereof of the local governmental office or political
subdivision and shall make an examination at least once a year,
if practicable: Provided, That in the event the chief inspector
elects to hire a private accountant to examine the financial
affairs at a projected cost greater than five thousand dollars,
he or she shall solicit sealed bids for the accounting services:
Provided, however, That sealed bids shall be obtained by public
notice which shall be published by Class III advertisement in a
newspaper of general circulation within the county in which
services are to be used: Provided further, That when required
for compliance with regulations for federal funds received by
county boards of education, the chief inspector shall conduct the
audits of all county boards of education within twelve months
after the end of the fiscal year and issue the reports within
thirty days after completion of the audit work or assign the work
to a certified public accountant in a timely manner so that the
work is completed within the specified time limits. On every examination, inquiry shall be made as to the financial conditions
and resources of the agency having jurisdiction over the
appropriations and levies disbursed by the office and whether the
requirements of the constitution and statutory laws of the state
and the ordinances and orders of the agency have been properly
complied with and also inquire into the methods and accuracy of
the accounts and such other matters of audit and accounting as
the chief inspector may prescribe. He or she or any authorized
assistant may issue subpoenas and compulsory process, direct the
service thereof of the subpoenas and compulsory process by any
sheriff, compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of
books and papers at any designated time and place, selected in
their respective county, and administer oaths. If any person
refuses to appear before the chief inspector or his or her
authorized assistant when required to do so, refuses to testify
on any matter or refuses to produce any books or papers in his or
her possession or under his or her control, he or she is guilty
of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not
more than one hundred dollars and imprisoned in the county jail
not more than six months. A person convicted of willful false
swearing in an examination is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon
conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than one hundred
dollars and imprisoned in the county jail not more than six
months. A report of each examination shall be made in duplicate, one copy to be filed in the office of the state tax commissioner
and one in the auditing department of the agency. If any
examination discloses misfeasance, malfeasance or nonfeasance in
office on the part of any public officer or employee, a certified
copy of the report shall be filed with the proper legal authority
of the agency, the prosecuting attorney of the county wherein the
agency is located and with the attorney general for such the
legal action as is proper. At the time of the filing of such the
certified audit, the chief inspector shall notify the proper
legal authority, the prosecuting attorney and the attorney
general in writing of his or her recommendation as to the legal
action that the chief inspector considers proper, whether
criminal prosecution or civil action to effect restitution, or
both. If the proper legal authority or prosecuting attorney,
within nine months of the receipt of the certified audit and
recommendations, refuses, neglects or fails to take efficient
legal action by a civil suit to effect restitution or by
prosecuting criminal proceedings to a final conclusion, in
accordance with the recommendations, the chief inspector may
institute the necessary proceedings or participate therein in the
proceedings and prosecute the proceedings in any court of the
state to a final conclusion.
(b) When requested by the governing body of a municipality,
the chief inspector shall take bids on the audit of that municipality, and, if he or she finds that a reputable certified
public accountant or registered public accountant outside the
state tax department division can conduct the audit at a cost
lower than if the department division did it, and if the
accountant meets all criteria set forth by the chief inspector,
he or she shall contract with the accountant for the audit:
Provided, That the chief inspector may elect to conduct the audit
of a municipality with one or more members of his or her audit
staff where, in the opinion of the chief inspector, a special or
unusual situation exists.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require all
governmental and school board audits to be competitively bid.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.