PRINTER'S NO. 2345
No. 1552 Session of 2008
INTRODUCED BY PICCOLA, ERICKSON, BAKER, FOLMER, O'PAKE, EARLL,
BRUBAKER, BOSCOLA AND PIPPY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2008
REFERRED TO FINANCE, SEPTEMBER 12, 2008
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.343, No.176), entitled,
2 as amended, "An act relating to the finances of the State
3 government; providing for the settlement, assessment,
4 collection, and lien of taxes, bonus, and all other accounts
5 due the Commonwealth, the collection and recovery of fees and
6 other money or property due or belonging to the Commonwealth,
7 or any agency thereof, including escheated property and the
8 proceeds of its sale, the custody and disbursement or other
9 disposition of funds and securities belonging to or in the
10 possession of the Commonwealth, and the settlement of claims
11 against the Commonwealth, the resettlement of accounts and
12 appeals to the courts, refunds of moneys erroneously paid to
13 the Commonwealth, auditing the accounts of the Commonwealth
14 and all agencies thereof, of all public officers collecting
15 moneys payable to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,
16 and all receipts of appropriations from the Commonwealth,
17 authorizing the Commonwealth to issue tax anticipation notes
18 to defray current expenses, implementing the provisions of
19 section 7(a) of Article VIII of the Constitution of
20 Pennsylvania authorizing and restricting the incurring of
21 certain debt and imposing penalties; affecting every
22 department, board, commission, and officer of the State
23 government, every political subdivision of the State, and
24 certain officers of such subdivisions, every person,
25 association, and corporation required to pay, assess, or
26 collect taxes, or to make returns or reports under the laws
27 imposing taxes for State purposes, or to pay license fees or
28 other moneys to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,
29 every State depository and every debtor or creditor of the
30 Commonwealth," further providing for audits of accounts of
31 debtors and agents of the Commonwealth, for audits of affairs
32 of departments, boards and commissions and for audits of
33 agencies receiving State aid.
1 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
2 hereby enacts as follows:
3 Section 1. Section 401 of the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.343,
4 No.176), known as The Fiscal Code, is amended by adding a
5 subsection to read:
6 Section 401. Audits of Accounts of Debtors and Agents of the
7 Commonwealth.--The Department of the Auditor General shall have
8 the power, and its duty shall be,
9 * * *
10 (f) To audit the financial affairs of the unified judicial
11 system and the General Assembly and its legislative service
12 agencies.
13 Section 2. Section 402 of the act, amended May 31, 1957
14 (P.L.237, No.115) and March 18, 1971 (P.L.109, No.4), is amended
15 to read:
16 Section 402. Audits of Affairs of Departments, Boards and
17 Commissions.--Except as may otherwise be provided by law it
18 shall be the duty of the Department of the Auditor General to
19 make all audits of transactions after their occurrence, which
20 may be necessary, in connection with the administration of the
21 financial affairs of the government of this Commonwealth, with
22 the exception of those of the Department of the Auditor General.
23 It shall be the duty of the Governor to cause such audits to be
24 made of the affairs of the Department of the Auditor General.
25 At least one audit shall be made each year of the affairs of
26 every department, board, and commission of the executive
27 [branch], legislative and judicial branches of the government,
28 and all collections made by departments, boards, or commissions,
29 and the accounts of every State institution, shall be audited
30 quarterly.
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1 Special audits of the affairs of all departments, boards,
2 commissions, or officers, may be made whenever they may, in the
3 judgment of the Auditor General, appear necessary[, and].
4 Special audits of the affairs of executive departments, boards,
5 commissions, or officers shall be made whenever the Governor
6 shall call upon the Auditor General to make them.
7 Copies of all audits made by the Department of the Auditor
8 General shall be promptly submitted to the Governor and shall be
9 made available to the public on the Auditor General's Internet
10 website.
11 Unless the Department of the Auditor General shall fail or
12 refuse to make annual, quarterly, or special audits, as
13 hereinabove required, it shall be unlawful for any other
14 administrative department, any independent administrative board
15 or commission, or any departmental administrative or advisory
16 board or commission, to expend any money appropriated to it by
17 the General Assembly for any audit of its affairs, or, in the
18 case of departments, of any boards or commissions connected with
19 them, except for the reimbursement of the General Fund for
20 audits made by the Department of the Auditor General as provided
21 by law, or for the payment of the compensation and expenses of
22 such auditors as are regularly employed as part of the
23 administrative staffs of such departments, boards, or
24 commissions, respectively.
25 Section 3. Section 403 of the act is amended to read:
26 Section 403. Audits of Agencies Receiving State Aid.--The
27 Department of the Auditor General shall have the power, and its
28 duty shall be, to audit the accounts and records of every
29 person, association, corporation, and public agency, receiving
30 an appropriation of money, payable out of any fund in the State
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1 Treasury, or entitled to receive any portion of any State tax
2 for any purpose whatsoever, as far as may be necessary to
3 satisfy the department that the money received was expended or
4 is being expended for no purpose other than that for which it
5 was paid. Copies of all such audits shall be furnished to the
6 Governor and shall be made available to the public on the
7 Auditor General's Internet website.
8 If at any time the department shall find that any money
9 received by any person, association, corporation, or public
10 agency, has been expended for any purpose other than that for
11 which it was paid, or if the department finds evidence of a
12 criminal act, it shall forthwith notify the [Governor, and]
13 appropriate Federal and State law enforcement officials. The
14 department shall decline to approve any further requisition for
15 the payment of any appropriation, or any further portion of any
16 State tax, to such person, association, corporation or public
17 agency, until an amount equal to that improperly expended shall
18 have been expended for the purpose for which the money
19 improperly expended was received from the State Treasury.
20 Section 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
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