Committee approves change shifting volunteer fire department audits to legislative auditor

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Senate Government Organization Committee agreed to report a committee substitute for Senate Bill 500 to the full Senate with the recommendation that it pass, approving language that moves responsibility for reviewing volunteer fire departments’ finances from the State Auditor to a legislative auditing authority.

Committee counsel said the bill amends a single section of state code to reassign responsibility so a legislative auditor would review all volunteer fire department finances regardless of income source. Counsel noted an updated fiscal statement from the Legislative Auditor’s Post Audit Division saying it has staff qualified to perform the mandated reviews and could do the work using existing resources, so the division reported no additional fiscal impact.

State Auditor Mark Hunt attended the committee and, according to counsel, suggested the bill. Justin Robinson, director of the Post Audit Division of the Legislative Auditor’s Office, was present; counsel said Robinson’s division conducts audits of volunteer fire departments under current legislative-auditor statutes. After limited discussion the committee agreed to the language of the committee substitute and voted to report the measure to the full Senate with the recommendation that it pass.

The committee recorded the motion and the chair declared the motion adopted. The committee did not record roll-call tallies in the minutes included in the transcript excerpt but the chair announced the ayes carried the motion. The committee then moved on to other agenda items.