Under existing law, the State Auditor is an elected position in the executive branch responsible for monitoring the accounts and records of the Department of Finance and the State Treasurer and maintaining property records of all state-owned, nonconsumable property. This bill would require property managers of state agencies to report loss or theft of certain state property in certain circumstances. This bill would create a new Division of Investigations within the Office of the State Auditor to investigate the loss, theft, or damage of certain state property and to demand repayment for the value of lost, stolen, or damaged property due to an act of negligence. This bill would authorize the Attorney General to bring civil actions for cases of negligent loss or damage of state property. This bill would authorize the State Auditor to refer to the Attorney General or an applicable district attorney any matter where there is a reasonable belief that a criminal violation has occurred. This bill would also make nonsubstantive, technical revisions to update the existing code language to current style.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 36-16-1, 36-16-1, 36-16-3, 36-16-6, 36-16-8, 36-16-10, 36-16-11