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Audit committee advances two draft bills on school records and privilege and releases UCCS Division II athletics audit
Summary
The Legislative Audit Committee reviewed two draft bills—one to make an annual audit of school district capital construction discretionary and another to clarify that sharing privileged material during a fraud investigation does not automatically waive privilege—assigned House sponsors, and released a final fiscal-year-2025 Division II athletics audit for the University of Colorado Colorado Springs.
The Legislative Audit Committee on Feb. 4 considered two draft bills and moved to release an audit report without a hearing.
Auditor Hunter told the committee the first draft (Attachment B) would correct language left in statute when related reporting requirements were removed in 2021 so that an annual audit of school district capital construction becomes discretionary rather than mandatory. The second draft (Attachment C) would clarify in statute that if an agency provides privileged information during a fraud investigation it "doesn't by itself constitute a waiver of privilege," language intended to protect attorney-client privilege while the Office of the State Auditor conducts fraud inquiries.
Auditor Hunter said Representative Linstead had been the prime sponsor earlier but had moved to the Senate; the committee therefore needs House co-sponsors for bipartisan sponsorship. He noted the first bill lists Representative Johnson as a prime sponsor in the House and Senators Frizzell and Weissman as sponsors in the Senate.
Representative Wilford proposed that Assistant Majority Leader Bacon serve as a co-prime House sponsor for Attachment B alongside Representative Johnson and that Wilford take on Attachment C with Representative Brooks; the chair confirmed both assignments. Auditor Hunter said the committee has often sponsored such measures in the past but that House co-sponsors are needed for bipartisan sponsorship; he said he and staff would seek a House Democrat to sign on to both bills.
The committee also moved to release a list of reports without a hearing. Marissa Edwards, deputy state auditor, presented the single released report: the final required fiscal-year-2025 report on Division II athletics for the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. "The NCAA requires these procedures every 3 years for Division II schools," Edwards said, and the report includes the auditors' standard procedures and testing. Edwards said the report will be posted on the Office of the State Auditor's website shortly.
Procedurally, the committee approved minutes from the Jan. 21, 2026 meeting (motion moved by the vice chair and seconded by Senator Weissman) and set a follow-up hearing window, with members discussing an early-April meeting to review progress on audit responses.
Next steps: staff will coordinate sponsor sign-ons and scheduling for the April follow-up; the released audit report will be made available online.
