AB 9

The Legislative Audit Bureau (LAB) currently has access, at any time and

without notice, to all state agencies and to any of their documents that relate to

agency expenditures, revenues, operations, and structure. State agencies, in this

regard, include not only executive branch agencies, but also legislative and judicial

branch bodies, numerous quasi-public entities, and entities that receive more than

50 percent of their funding from state funds.

On July 10, 2014, the attorney general issued an opinion (OAG-03-14) that the

Government Accountability Board (GAB) could not provide certain investigative

records to LAB. These records could only be released if specifically authorized by law

and the attorney general concluded that the LAB's general authority to have access

to state agency documents was insufficiently specific and thus was not a specific

authorization. In particular, the attorney general found that current law did not

"grant LAB the general right to obtain documents made confidential by other

statutory sections."

This bill clarifies LAB authority to have access to all state agency documents

by providing that LAB also has specific access to state agency documents that relate

to agency expenditures, revenues, operations, and structure that are confidential by

law. In addition, the bill requires GAB to provide investigatory records to LAB to the

extent necessary for LAB to carry out its duties.