Legislative Budget and Audit Committee elects leadership, adopts handbook and approves two audit-related contracts

Senators and representatives on the Legislative Budget and Audit Committee elected new leadership, adopted an updated LBAC handbook and approved two contracts to support the Legislature’s annual financial and federal audits at their Jan. 29, 2025 meeting.

The committee elected Senator Gray Jackson as chair and Representative Zach Fields as vice chair after a member placed a nomination for Jackson and nominations were closed without objection. The committee then approved the meeting agenda and minutes from Dec. 2 and Dec. 23, 2024 by unanimous consent.

Why it matters: the handbook establishes the committee’s formal rules and procedures for audit release, audit requests and administrative matters; the two contracts fund audit work used to meet federal audit requirements and to test the state’s accounting systems that support the annual financial statement and single-audit work.

During the meeting Legislative Audit and Legislative Finance provided briefings on their roles. The committee then voted to approve two contracts brought forward by the legislative auditor: a contract for federal compliance audit assistance with CliftonLarsonAllen for an amount not to exceed $225,000, and an assignment and extension of the specialized information technology services contract from Barry Dunn McNeil & Parker LLC to BDMP Assurance LLP for up to $175,000. Both motions were approved after opportunity for discussion and, as recorded in the meeting, were adopted without recorded objection.

The committee also adopted the revised LBAC handbook as presented, with the legislative auditor authorized to make technical or conforming changes. The handbook revisions noted in the meeting packet included removal of references to the now-repealed performance-review statute, updates to statutory citations, clarification that audits may be delivered electronically or by mail (rather than hand-delivered), updated contract language required by legislative legal, and an explanation of the confidential process for preliminary and final audit report release.

Other procedural actions taken by unanimous consent included approval of the agenda and approval of minutes from the two December 2024 meetings. The committee recessed briefly for an executive session to discuss procurements and returned to the public record to complete the votes.

The meeting adjourned on schedule to allow the room to be turned over for the 9 a.m. Alaska Seafood Task Force meeting.