Senate Bill S6827A

                                BILL NUMBER:S6827

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.