HBA-SEP, CBW C.S.H.B. 609 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 609
By: Hochberg
State Affairs
4/20/2001
Committee Report (Substituted)



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Current law requires a state agency that has an annual operating budget
that exceeds $10 million, that has a staff of more than 300 employees, or
that receives and processes cash items in excess of $10 million annually to
appoint an internal auditor.  This excludes smaller agencies that may be
able to improve performance by identifying problems through an internal
audit.  C.S.H.B.  609 extends the internal audit requirement to all state
agencies that receive an appropriation.  

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 609 amends the Government Code to make the Texas Internal Auditing
Act applicable to each state agency that receives an appropriation.  The
bill requires all state agencies that become subject to the Texas Internal
Auditing Act to appoint an internal auditor by January 1, 2002, and to
begin submitting an annual report by October 31, 2002.  The bill requires a
state agency to file with the Sunset Advisory Commission a copy of each
report submitted by the agency's internal auditor to the agency's governing
board or administrator. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE

C.S.H.B. 609 differs from the original bill by requiring a state agency to
file with the Sunset Advisory Commission a copy of each report submitted by
the agency's internal auditor to the state agency's governing board or
administrator.   The substitute differs from the original by providing that
the audit provision applies to state agencies that receive an
appropriation, rather than to all state agencies.