Section 3.97 Legislative Audit Commission
3.97 LEGISLATIVE AUDIT COMMISSION.
Subdivision 1.Policy.
Continuous legislative review of the spending of public funds and financing at all levels of government is required in the public interest to enable the enactment of appropriate legislation.
Subd. 2.Membership; terms; meetings; compensation; powers.
The Legislative Audit Commission consists of:
(1) three members of the senate appointed by the Subcommittee on Committees of the Committee on Rules and Administration of the senate;
(2) three members of the senate appointed by the senate minority leader;
(3) three members of the house of representatives appointed by the speaker of the house; and
(4) three members of the house of representatives appointed by the house of representatives minority leader.
Members shall serve until replaced, or until they are not members of the legislative body from which they were appointed. Appointing authorities shall fill vacancies on the commission within 30 days of a vacancy being created.
The commission shall meet in January of each odd-numbered year to elect its chair and vice-chair. They shall serve until successors are elected. The chair and vice-chair shall alternate biennially between the senate and the house of representatives. The commission shall meet at the call of the chair. The members shall serve without compensation but be reimbursed for their reasonable expenses as members of the legislature. The commission may exercise the powers prescribed by section 3.153.
Subd. 3.
[Repealed, 2006 c 262 s 2]
Subd. 3a.Evaluation topics.
(a) The commission shall periodically select topics for the legislative auditor to evaluate. Topics may include any agency, program, or activity established by law to achieve a state purpose, or any topic that affects the operation of state government, but the commission shall give primary consideration to topics that are likely, upon examination, to produce recommendations for cost savings, increased productivity, or the elimination of duplication among public agencies. Legislators and legislative committees may suggest topics for evaluation, but the legislative auditor shall only conduct evaluations approved by the commission.
(b) The commission is requested to direct the auditor, in response to a suggestion from an individual legislator of an evaluation topic, to estimate the scope of the proposed evaluation and the time required to complete it. The estimate must be reported to the legislator who submitted the suggestion and to the commission. The commission must determine within 60 days of receiving the estimate whether to proceed with the suggested evaluation and must convey its decision to the legislator along with the reasons for its decision.
Subd. 3b.Review of financial management and internal controls.
The commission shall review legislative auditor reports and make recommendations, as the commission determines necessary, for improvements in the state's system of internal controls and financial management.
Subd. 4.
[Renumbered 3.971, subdivision 1]
Subd. 5.
[Renumbered 3.971, subd 2]
Subd. 6.
[Renumbered 3.971, subd 3a]
Subd. 7.
[Renumbered 3.971, subd 4]
Subd. 8.
[Renumbered 3.971, subd 5]
Subd. 9.
[Renumbered 3.979, subdivision 1]
Subd. 10.
[Renumbered 3.979, subd 2]
Subd. 11.
[Renumbered 3.979, subd 3]
Subd. 11a.
[Renumbered 3.979, subd 4]
Subd. 12.
[Renumbered subd 3a]
History:
1973 c 492 s 12; 1973 c 720 s 76 subd 2; 1975 c 204 s 90; 1980 c 484 s 1-3; 1981 c 311 s 39; 1982 c 545 s 24; 1983 c 317 s 1; 1985 c 248 s 70; 1986 c 444; 1988 c 469 art 1 s 1; 1989 c 351 s 1; 1991 c 345 art 1 s 38; 1993 c 4 s 5; 1994 c 632 art 3 s 15; 1997 c 184 s 1; 1999 c 99 s 1,23; 1Sp2001 c 10 art 2 s 10; 2006 c 262 s 1; 2007 c 13 art 1 s 1; 2009 c 101 art 2 s 3