C.S.S.B. 1581 78(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


C.S.S.B. 1581
By: Wentworth
State Affairs
Committee Report (Substituted)



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

The audit working papers of the State Auditor, an auditor of a state
agency, and an auditor of an institution of higher education are excepted
from public disclosure under Section 552.116 of the Government Code.
However, currently there is not a similar exception to disclosure for the
audit working papers of a county or a municipality. County and municipal
auditors have the same responsibility as auditors of state agencies and
institutions to help ensure that public funds are managed and expended
appropriately. Their working papers include audit strategy and reveal
areas of inquiry that, if made public, would make it easier for persons
with bad intentions to circumvent an audit, thereby putting public funds
at increased risk. Since final audit reports are public information, the
public's interest in learning about the workings of government would not
be compromised by protecting the audit working papers of county and
municipal auditors from disclosure. The purpose of C.S.S.B. 1581 is to
extend the same protection to the audit working papers of county and
municipal auditors that is available under current law to auditors of
state agencies and institutions.  

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the committee that this bill does not expressly grant
any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department,
agency, or institution. 

ANALYSIS

C.S.S.B. 1581 amends Texas Government Code Section 552.116, Subsection
(a), to provide an exception to disclosure for the working papers of
municipal and county auditors.  The bill does not create such an exception
for information included in an audit working paper that is also maintained
in another public record. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

Upon passage, or, if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act
takes effect September 1, 2003.  The change in law made by this Act
applies to audit working papers created before, on, or after the effective
date of this Act. 


COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE

C.S.S.B. 1581 differs from the original by amending Section 552.116(a),
Government Code, to make the exception to disclosure apply to the audit
working papers of municipal auditors as well as county auditors.  The
original bill applied only to county auditors, and amended the Local
Government Code rather than the Government Code.