THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

SENATE BILL

INTRODUCED BY PICCOLA, GORDNER, EICHELBERGER, BAKER, PIPPY, FOLMER, ORIE, RAFFERTY, BOSCOLA, EARLL, WAUGH AND O'PAKE, JANUARY 29, 2009

REFERRED TO FINANCE, JANUARY 29, 2009  

AN ACT

Amending the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.343, No.176), entitled,

as amended, "An act relating to the finances of the State

government; providing for the settlement, assessment,

collection, and lien of taxes, bonus, and all other accounts

due the Commonwealth, the collection and recovery of fees and

other money or property due or belonging to the Commonwealth,

or any agency thereof, including escheated property and the

proceeds of its sale, the custody and disbursement or other

disposition of funds and securities belonging to or in the

possession of the Commonwealth, and the settlement of claims

against the Commonwealth, the resettlement of accounts and

appeals to the courts, refunds of moneys erroneously paid to

the Commonwealth, auditing the accounts of the Commonwealth

and all agencies thereof, of all public officers collecting

moneys payable to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,

and all receipts of appropriations from the Commonwealth,

authorizing the Commonwealth to issue tax anticipation notes

to defray current expenses, implementing the provisions of

section 7(a) of Article VIII of the Constitution of

Pennsylvania authorizing and restricting the incurring of

certain debt and imposing penalties; affecting every

department, board, commission, and officer of the State

government, every political subdivision of the State, and

certain officers of such subdivisions, every person,

association, and corporation required to pay, assess, or

collect taxes, or to make returns or reports under the laws

imposing taxes for State purposes, or to pay license fees or

other moneys to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,

every State depository and every debtor or creditor of the

Commonwealth," further providing for audits of accounts of

debtors and agents of the Commonwealth, for audits of affairs

of departments, boards and commissions and for audits of

agencies receiving State aid.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1.  Section 401 of the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.343,

No.176), known as The Fiscal Code, is amended by adding a

subsection to read:

Section 401.  Audits of Accounts of Debtors and Agents of the

Commonwealth.--The Department of the Auditor General shall have

the power, and its duty shall be,

* * *

(f)  To audit the financial affairs of the unified judicial

system and the General Assembly and its legislative service

agencies.

Section 2.  Section 402 of the act, amended May 31, 1957

(P.L.237, No.115) and March 18, 1971 (P.L.109, No.4), is amended

to read:

Section 402.  Audits of Affairs of Departments, Boards and

Commissions.--Except as may otherwise be provided by law it

shall be the duty of the Department of the Auditor General to

make all audits of transactions after their occurrence, which

may be necessary, in connection with the administration of the

financial affairs of the government of this Commonwealth, with

the exception of those of the Department of the Auditor General.

It shall be the duty of the Governor to cause such audits to be

made of the affairs of the Department of the Auditor General.

At least one audit shall be made each year of the affairs of

every department, board, and commission of the executive

[branch], legislative and judicial branches of the government,

and all collections made by departments, boards, or commissions,

and the accounts of every State institution, shall be audited

quarterly.

Special audits of the affairs of all departments, boards,

commissions, or officers, may be made whenever they may, in the

judgment of the Auditor General, appear necessary[, and].

Special audits of the affairs of executive departments, boards,

commissions, or officers, shall be made whenever the Governor

shall call upon the Auditor General to make them.

Copies of all audits made by the Department of the Auditor

General shall be promptly submitted to the Governor and shall be

made available to the public on the Auditor General's Internet

website.

Unless the Department of the Auditor General shall fail or

refuse to make annual, quarterly, or special audits, as

hereinabove required, it shall be unlawful for any other

administrative department, any independent administrative board

or commission, or any departmental administrative or advisory

board or commission, to expend any money appropriated to it by

the General Assembly for any audit of its affairs, or, in the

case of departments, of any boards or commissions connected with

them, except for the reimbursement of the General Fund for

audits made by the Department of the Auditor General as provided

by law, or for the payment of the compensation and expenses of

such auditors as are regularly employed as part of the

administrative staffs of such departments, boards, or

commissions, respectively.

Section 3.  Section 403 of the act is amended to read:

Section 403.  Audits of Agencies Receiving State Aid.--The

Department of the Auditor General shall have the power, and its

duty shall be, to audit the accounts and records of every

person, association, corporation, and public agency, receiving

an appropriation of money, payable out of any fund in the State

Treasury, or entitled to receive any portion of any State tax

for any purpose whatsoever, as far as may be necessary to

satisfy the department that the money received was expended or

is being expended for no purpose other than that for which it

was paid. Copies of all such audits shall be furnished to the

Governor and shall be made available to the public on the

Auditor General's Internet website.

If at any time the department shall find that any money

received by any person, association, corporation, or public

agency, has been expended for any purpose other than that for

which it was paid, or if the department finds evidence of a

criminal act, it shall forthwith notify the [Governor, and]

appropriate Federal and State law enforcement officials. The

department shall decline to approve any further requisition for

the payment of any appropriation, or any further portion of any

State tax, to such person, association, corporation or public

agency, until an amount equal to that improperly expended shall

have been expended for the purpose for which the money

improperly expended was received from the State Treasury.

Section 4.  This act shall take effect immediately.