Relates to designated viewers of audits provided to the federal clearinghouse

BILL NUMBER:S6827A

Title of bill

An act to amend the general municipal law, in relation to alternate viewers of audits provided to the federal clearinghouse

Purpose

The purpose of this bill is to allow state agencies the ability to view municipalities single audit filings electronically to be in compliance with the federal Single Audit Act of 1984, which will reduce burdens on local government entities.

Summary of provisions

This legislation adds a new section 40 to the general municipal law.

Justification

All local government entities that receive federal dollars in excess of an aggregate sum of $500,000 annually must file a single audit with the federal Clearinghouse and appropriate state agencies to account for the expenditures of those funds pursuant to the federal Single Audit Act of 1984 and Circular A-133, put forth by the federal Office of Management and Budget. Currently, local government entities must file with the federal government, and then individually with each state agency that acted as a conduit of federal funding for a related purpose. The majority of localities required to file these audits receive an assortment of smaller grants adding up to $500,000 for a variety of purposes, and they are therefore required to file multiple documents with various state agencies.

The federal Clearinghouse, a digital repository for single audit documents that all federal agencies access online, allows entities filing an audit to designate other authorized users of their documents. This legislation would require municipalities to designate the state agencies that they would be filing their audits with in addition to their submission to the federal Clearinghouse as authorized viewers to satisfy their state filing requirements electronically. This simple change will improve government efficiency by saving municipalities and local governments time, staff resources, and money in both printing and mailing costs, while still satisfying their responsibilities to the federal government and ensuring that the appropriate state agencies continue to have access to the audit information that they must receive under federal law.

Legislative history

This is a new bill.

Fiscal implications

None to the State or local government entities.

Effective date

This act shall take effect upon the enactment of updates made to Circular No. A-133 by the Federal Office of Management & Budget adding

the ability to designate a viewer to a single audit filing; provided that the federal clearinghouse shall notify the legislative bill drafting commission upon the occurrence of the updates to Circular No. A-133 in order that the commission may maintain an accurate and timely database of the official test of the laws of the state of New York in furtherance of effectuating the provisions of section 44 of the legislative law and section 70-b of the public officers law.