Panel advances bill letting Auditor General seek bank records in county audits
Summary
House Bill 2368 would expand the Office of the Auditor General's authority to obtain records from financial institutions and require state entities to pay costs of producing those records; the committee gave the bill a do-pass recommendation.
The committee advanced House Bill 2368 on a do-pass recommendation after testimony from sponsor Matt Gress and supporters who said the change would close a gap exposed during the Santa Cruz County embezzlement case.
Gress (LD 4) said the measure grew from a large embezzlement in Santa Cruz County where a county treasurer transferred about $38 million into a personal account over 11 years. He said the Auditor General lacked a direct statutory right to obtain bank documents from financial institutions, which limited forensic review. "This bill will change that so that the auditor general can go directly to the bank and get those documents and cross reference them with what the county is providing," Gress said.
Gress said he consulted county treasurers, AECO and banking institutions and that the Auditor General supported giving the office the tool. Senator concerns focused on federal banking authority and guardrails; one senator said he would vote no on the committee floor to allow time to vet statutory language but expected to support the bill on the Senate floor after detailed review.
The committee gave HB 2368 a do-pass recommendation on a recorded vote of six ayes, one nay. The committee transcript records questions about consultation and whether the Auditor General has capacity to perform additional work; the sponsor said the Auditor General estimated additional costs and that an appropriation would likely be required.
