Virginia Law

A. The Auditor of Public Accounts shall audit all the accounts of every state department, officer, board, commission, institution, or other agency handling any state funds as determined necessary by the Auditor of Public Accounts. In the performance of such duties and the exercise of such powers he may employ the services of certified public accountants, provided the cost thereof shall not exceed such sums as may be available out of the appropriation provided by law for the conduct of his office.

B. The Auditor of Public Accounts shall review the information required in § 2.2-1501 to determine that state agencies are providing and reporting appropriate information on financial and performance measures, and the Auditor shall review the accuracy of the management systems used to accumulate and report the results. The Auditor shall report to the General Assembly the results of such audits and make recommendations, if indicated, for new or revised accountability or performance measures to be implemented for the agencies audited.

C. The Auditor of Public Accounts shall prepare, by November 1, a summary of the results of all of the audits and other oversight responsibilities performed for the most recently ended fiscal year. The Auditor of Public Accounts shall present this summary to the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations, the House Committee on Appropriations, and the House Committee on Finance on the day the Governor presents to the General Assembly the Executive Budget in accordance with §§ 2.2-1508 and 2.2-1509 or at the direction of the respective Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations, the House Committee on Appropriations, or the House Committee on Finance at one of their committee meetings prior to the meeting above.

D. As part of his normal oversight responsibilities, the Auditor of Public Accounts shall incorporate into his audit procedures and processes a review process to ensure that the Commonwealth's payments to counties, cities, and towns under Chapter 35.1 (§ 58.1-3523 et seq.) of Title 58.1 are consistent with the provisions of § 58.1-3524. The Auditor of Public Accounts shall report to the Governor and the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations annually any material failure by a locality or the Commonwealth to comply with the provisions of Chapter 35.1 of Title 58.1.

E. The Auditor of Public Accounts when called upon by the Governor shall examine the accounts of any institution maintained in whole or in part by the Commonwealth and, upon the direction of the Comptroller, shall examine the accounts of any officer required to settle his accounts with him; and upon the direction of any other state officer at the seat of government he shall examine the accounts of any person required to settle his accounts with such officer.

F. Upon the written request of any member of the General Assembly, the Auditor of Public Accounts shall furnish the requested information and provide technical assistance upon any matter requested by such member.

G. In compliance with the provisions of the federal Single Audit Act Amendments of 1996, Public Law 104-156, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission may authorize the Auditor of Public Accounts to audit biennially the accounts pertaining to federal funds received by state departments, officers, boards, commissions, institutions, or other agencies.

H. 1. The Auditor of Public Accounts shall compile and maintain on its Internet website a searchable database providing certain state expenditure, revenue, and demographic information as described in this subsection. In maintaining the database, the Auditor of Public Accounts shall work with and coordinate his efforts with the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission in obtaining, summarizing, and compiling the information to avoid duplication of efforts. The database shall be updated each year by October 15 to provide the information required in this subsection for the 10 most recently ended fiscal years of the Commonwealth.

The online database shall be made available to citizens of the Commonwealth to allow public access to historical revenue collections and appropriations with related demographic information, to the extent that the information is available and provided to the Auditor of Public Accounts. All state departments, courts officers, boards, commissions, institutions, or other agencies of the Commonwealth shall furnish all information requested by the Auditor of Public Accounts and shall cooperate with him to the fullest extent.

For purposes of reporting information and implementing the database pursuant to this subsection, the Auditor of Public Accounts shall include all appropriated funds and other sources under the control of public institutions of higher education, except for the activity of private gifts, including endowment funds and unrestricted gifts referenced in § 23.1-101. The exclusion of this activity does not affect the public access to these records unless otherwise specifically exempted by law.

2. The database shall contain the following for each of the 10 most recently ended fiscal years of the Commonwealth:

a. Major categories of spending by each secretariat and each agency and institution, including each independent agency, and including within each major category a register of all funds expended, showing vendor name, date of payment, amount, and a description of the type of expense, including credit card purchases with the same information to the extent that the information exists. The database shall include the name, phone number, and email address for a contact at the agency or institution who may be contacted for additional information;

b. The number of full-time state employees for whom the annual rate of pay is more than $10,000, an identifier associated with each such employee, and the actual salary, bonuses, and total compensation paid during the fiscal year to the employee associated with each identifier, organized by agency;

c. Total fiscal year revenues from all sources broken down by funding source and computed on a per capita basis and as a percentage of personal income in the Commonwealth;

d. Total fiscal year spending from federal sources broken down by major category;

e. Population estimates for the Commonwealth by locality;

f. Student enrollment in grades K through 12 by locality;

g. Enrollment in public institutions of higher education of the Commonwealth by institution;

h. Enrollment in private institutions of higher education in the Commonwealth by institution;

i. The annual prison population;

j. Virginia adjusted gross income and Virginia taxable income by locality;

k. The number of citizens in the Commonwealth receiving benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program;

l. The number of driver's licenses issued;

m. The number of registered motor vehicles;

n. The number of full-time private sector employees;

o. The number of prepaid tuition contracts outstanding pursuant to Chapter 7 (§ 23.1-700 et seq.) of Title 23.1 and the estimated total liability under such contracts;

p. Any state audit or report relating to the programs or activities of an agency;

q. Information on capital outlay payments including project title, funding date, completion date, appropriations, year-to-date expenditures, and unexpended appropriations;

r. Annual bonded indebtedness that shall include the amount of the total original obligation stated in terms of principal and interest, the term of the obligation, the amounts of principal and interest previously paid to reduce the obligation, the balance remaining of the obligation, and any refinancing of the obligation; and

s. Other data as the Auditor deems appropriate relating to the Commonwealth of Virginia.

3. The Auditor of Public Accounts shall incorporate into the database the following additional elements as they become available through improved enterprise applications or other systems:

a. Commodities including line item expenditures;

b. Virginia Performs data as it directly relates to funding actions or expenditures;

c. Descriptive purpose for funding action or expenditure;

d. Statute or act of General Assembly authorizing the issuance of bonds; and

e. Copies of actual grants and contracts.

4. The Auditor of Public Accounts shall incorporate in the database the following enhancements:

a. Graphs, charts, or other visual displays of aggregated data showing (i) current state spending by expense category, (ii) year-to-year state spending, and (iii) other data deemed appropriate by the Auditor, including display of available line item expenditures; and

b. Frequently asked questions and their responses.

5. By October 15 of each year, the Auditor shall also produce a paper copy or a computer file containing the information described in this subsection and shall distribute the copy or file to newspapers of general circulation in the Commonwealth. The distribution shall include the address of the Internet website for the searchable database.

I. As a part of audits conducted pursuant to subsection A, the Auditor of Public Accounts shall review compliance with requirements established pursuant to the provisions of § 2.2-519 and the requirements of the Virginia Debt Collection Act (§ 2.2-4800 et seq.).

Code 1950, §§ 2-127, 2-132, 2-135; 1950, p. 664; 1966, c. 677, §§ 2.1-155, 2.1-160, 2.1-163; 1972, c. 582; 1973, c. 507; 1985, c. 315; 1998, Sp. Sess., c. 2; 2001, c. 844; 2002, c. 727; 2003, c. 270; 2004, Sp. Sess. I, c. 1; 2005, c. 494; 2007, c. 577; 2008, c. 637; 2009, cc. 758, 812; 2010, c. 671; 2016, c. 547; 2017, cc. 679, 681; 2018, cc. 57, 307, 601; 2019, c. 731; 2020, c. 646.