HB257 Alabama 2015 Session

This bill would create the Joint Legislative Committee on Government Oversight and Accountability to provide continuous legislative oversight of all state government operations.

This bill would provide for the membership, compensation, powers, and duties of the committee.

This bill would authorize the committee to review expenditures by state agencies and other entities and investigate, in detail, whether funds are expended for the programs or purposes for which they were appropriated by the Legislature.

This bill would authorize the committee to offer formal suggestions to state agencies and other entities to correct operational deficiencies identified by the committee and would allow the committee to direct the Chief Examiner of Public Accounts to conduct an audit, review, or examination of any state agency or other entity under certain conditions.

This bill would also authorize the Department of Finance to modify the planned expenditure of funds by state agencies and other entities upon advice and consent of the Joint Legislative Committee on Government Oversight and Accountability and would prohibit certain interagency agreements unless notice is provided by the Governor to the committee.

To create the permanent Joint Legislative Committee on Government Oversight and Accountability; to provide for membership of the committee; to provide for the compensation of members; to provide for the powers and duties of the committee; to specify time frames for meetings held by the committee; to allow the committee to request audits of certain state agencies and other entities under certain conditions; to authorize the committee to hold public hearings under certain conditions; to amend Section 41-19-10, Code of Alabama 1975, to authorize the Department of Finance to modify the planned expenditure of funds upon advice and consent of the committee; and to prohibit certain interagency agreements unless certain notice is provided to the committee.