AB 36

Under current law, the Legislative Audit Bureau (LAB), headed by the state

auditor, is responsible for auditing state agencies and certain other entities. LAB

conducts various kinds of financial audits and also conducts performance evaluation

audits to determine, among other things, whether a given program is yielding

intended results. This bill makes a number of changes to the laws governing LAB,

including the following:

1. Under current law, LAB is required to perform a financial audit of the records

of each state agency and authority at least once every five years and a financial audit

of the records of other public and quasi-public entities, including any entity that

receives more than 50 percent of its annual budget from the state, at the state

auditor's discretion or when LAB is so directed. The bill eliminates that five-year

timeline and requires LAB to perform all of those audits at the state auditor's

discretion or as the Joint Legislative Audit Committee (JLAC) directs.

2. Current law also requires LAB to perform, among other audits, (a) an annual

financial audit of the State Fair Park Board and certain private entities with which

that board may contract; (b) an annual financial audit of certain Department of

Health Services grants; (c) a biennial financial audit of the central accounting

records of the Department of Administration (DOA); (d) a biennial financial audit of

the Medical College of Wisconsin's expenditures of state moneys; (e) a biennial

financial audit of the Higher Education Aids Board's contract for dental education;

(f) a biennial performance evaluation audit of the Division of Gaming in DOA; and

(g) a biennial performance evaluation audit of the state lottery.

The bill requires LAB to perform all of those audits at the discretion of the state

auditor or as JLAC directs, not on an annual or biennial basis. The bill also adds an

annual financial audit of the University of Wisconsin System.

3. The bill eliminates a number of LAB audits under current law, including (a)

an annual financial audit of the Division of Gaming; (b) a biennial financial audit of

cash on hand and securities deposited in the state treasury or otherwise accounted

for by the secretary of administration; (c) a biennial financial audit of DOA's books

compared to moneys in the vaults of the state treasury or other state depositories;

(d) a financial audit of moneys transferred from a school district's capital

improvement fund; (e) unspecified audits to be performed at the direction of the

Government Accountability Board; and (f) several one-time performance evaluation

and financial audits that have expired or been completed.

4. Current law requires LAB to monitor state agencies' purchases and report

to JLAC at least once every five years concerning the extent to which agency

purchases were of materials, supplies, or equipment manufactured outside of the

United States. The bill replaces that five-year reporting requirement with the

requirement that LAB make such a report to JLAC at the state auditor's discretion

or as JLAC directs.