Senate Bill No. 565
(By Senator Chafin)
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[Introduced March 22, 2001; referred to the Committee on
Government Organization; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact sections two and eight, article nine,
chapter six of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended; and to further amend said
article by adding thereto a new section, designated section
twelve, all relating to the supervision of local government
offices; chief inspector to ensure that all reports and audits
are timely filed and requirements abided by; cost of services
provided by the chief inspector to be charged if a
municipality is to undergo a single audit related to a federal
grant; interest earned on costs collected for services of the
chief inspector to go into the revolving fund; and chief
inspector to assist both universities in developing graduate business programs.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections two and eight, article nine, chapter six of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted; and that said article be further
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section twelve,
all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 9. SUPERVISION OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT OFFICES.
§6-9-2. Uniform system of accounting and reporting for local
governmental offices and agencies; form and uniform
system for receipts; additional power and authority.
The chief inspector shall formulate, prescribe and install a
system of accounting and reporting in conformity with the
provisions of this article, which shall be uniform for all local
governmental offices and agencies and for all public accounts of
the same class and which shall exhibit true accounts and detailed
statements for all public funds collected, received and expended
for any purpose by all local governmental officers, employees or
other persons. Such The accounts shall show the receipt, use and
disposition of all public property under the control of such local
governmental officers, employees or other persons, and any income
derived therefrom and of all sources of such public income, the amounts due and received from each source, all receipts, vouchers
and other documents kept or required to be kept and necessary to
identify and prove the validity of every transaction, all
statements and reports made or required to be made for the internal
administration of the office to which they pertain and all reports
published or required to be published for the information of the
people regarding any and all details of the financial
administration of such public affairs. The chief inspector shall
prescribe receipt forms for all such local governmental offices and
agencies and shall formulate, prescribe and install a uniform
system with respect to the utilization, processing and disposition
of receipts given as evidence of moneys or property collected or
received by such local governmental offices and agencies. The
chief inspector shall also formulate, prescribe and install a
system of accounting for the civil accounts of the offices of the
magistrates, which shall exhibit true accounts and detailed
statements of the services rendered, the name and address of the
persons for whom rendered, the charges made and collected therefor
and such other information as may be necessary to identify the
transaction.
The chief inspector is vested and charged with the duties of administering and enforcing the provisions of this article and is
authorized to promulgate and to enforce such rules as may be
necessary to implement such the administration and enforcement.
The chief inspector shall use due diligence to ensure that all
reports and audits are issued in a timely manner and to comply with
all federal audit and bonded indebtedness requirements so as not to
jeopardize the entity's funding. The power and authority herein
granted shall be in addition to all other power and authority
vested by law in the state tax commissioner as chief inspector or
otherwise.
§6-9-8. Payment of cost of services of chief inspector; revolving
fund.
The cost of any service or act performed by the chief
inspector under the provisions of this article as to any county or
district office, officer or institution shall be paid by the county
commission of the county; the cost thereof as to any board of
education shall be paid by such the
board; the cost thereof as to
any municipal corporation shall be paid by the authorities thereof:
Provided, That in municipalities in which the total revenue from
all taxes does not exceed the sum of two thousand dollars annually,
such cost including the per diem and all actual costs and expenses of such services shall not exceed the sum of sixty dollars. The
cost of this service shall be the actual cost and expense of the
service performed, including transportation, hotel, meals,
materials, per diem compensation of deputies, assistants, clerical
help and such other costs as may be necessary to enable them to
perform the services required, but such costs shall not exceed the
sum of two thousand dollars for services rendered to a Class III or
a Class IV municipality: Provided, however, That the chief
inspector may charge up to an additional one two thousand dollars
for costs incurred for each service or act performed for a utility
or park system owned by a Class III or Class IV municipality:
Provided further, That if a municipality is required to undergo a
single audit by the federal agency or agencies making a grant, the
foregoing cost limitations do not apply: And provided further,
That the chief inspector shall provide a written quote for all
costs in advance for all services required by this article. The
chief inspector shall render to the agency liable for such cost a
statement thereof as soon after the same was incurred as
practicable and it shall be the duty of such the
agency to allow
the same and cause it to be paid promptly in the manner that other
claims and accounts are allowed and paid and such the
total amount shall constitute a debt against the local agency due the state.
Whenever there is in the state treasury a sum of money due any such
county commission, board of education or municipality from any
source, upon the application of the chief inspector, the same shall
be at once applied on the debt aforesaid against the county
commission, board of education or municipality and the fact of
such
the
application of
such the
fund shall be reported by the auditor
to the said county commission, board of education or municipality,
which report shall be a receipt for the amount therein named. All
money received by the chief inspector from this source shall be
paid into the state treasury, shall be deposited to the credit of
an account to be known as chief inspector's fund and shall be
expended only for the purpose of covering the cost of
such the
services, unless otherwise directed by the Legislature. The cost
of any such examination, service or act by the chief inspector made
necessary, or
such the
part thereof as was made necessary, by the
willful fault of any officer or employee, may be recovered by the
chief inspector from
such that
person, on motion, on ten days'
notice in any court having jurisdiction.
For the purpose of permitting payments to be made at definite
periods to deputy inspectors and assistants for per diem compensation and expenses, there is hereby created a revolving fund
for the chief inspector's office. The fund shall be accumulated
and administered as follows:
(1) There shall be appropriated from the state fund general
revenue the sum of twenty-five thousand dollars to be transferred
to this fund to create a revolving fund which, together with other
payments into this fund as provided in this article, shall
constitute a fund to defray the cost of this service.
(2) Payments received for the cost of services of the chief
inspector's office and interest earned on the invested balance of
the chief inspector's revolving fund shall be deposited into this
revolving fund, which shall be known as the chief inspector's fund.
(3) Any appropriations made to this fund shall may not be
deemed considered to have expired at the end of any fiscal period.
§6-9-12. Business intern program.
Beginning the first day of July, two thousand two, the chief
inspector shall develop in conjunction with the graduate business
programs at West Virginia University and Marshall University an
intern program which utilizes students pursuing a graduate degree
in business, economics or accounting to assist in the auditing
function of the office of the chief inspector. This program shall provide that those students who satisfactorily complete the program
shall receive up to two hours credit toward their degree.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to allow the auditor to
invest funds of the chief inspector to be credited to the operating
fund of the chief inspector. The bill establishes a business
intern program with WVU and Marshall. The bill requires the
auditor to issue reports and audits in a timely manner so as not to
jeopardize funding sources of any entity, provides for costs to be
paid for federal single audits and raises the cap on parks and
public utility audits to $2,000, and requires that all services by
the chief inspector be by written quote in advance of the services
being rendered.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken form
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
§6-9-12 is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring
have been omitted.