12 LC 33 4549

Senate Bill 409

By: Senators James of the 35th, Davenport of the 44th, Paris of the 26th, Fort of the 39th,
Tate of the 38th and others

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT

To amend Chapter 27 of Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the lottery for education, so as to require the Georgia Lottery Corporation to conduct and publish a biannual audit regarding the location and distribution of winning lottery tickets; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1.

Chapter 27 of Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the lottery for education, is amended by revising Code Section 50-27-33, relating to reports by the Georgia Lottery Corporation, audits, budget, and fiscal year, as follows:

"50-27-33.

(a) To ensure the financial integrity of the lottery, the corporation through its board of directors shall:

(1) Submit quarterly and annual reports to the Governor, state auditor, the state accounting officer, and the oversight committee created by Code Section 50-27-34, disclosing the total lottery revenues, prize disbursements, operating expenses, and administrative expenses of the corporation during the reporting period, including the distribution of administrative expenses for administrative costs for staff, overhead, and expenses. The annual report shall additionally describe the organizational structure of the corporation and summarize the functions performed by each organizational division within the corporation;

(2) Adopt a system of internal audits;

(3) Maintain weekly or more frequent records of lottery transactions, including the distribution of tickets or shares to retailers, revenues received, claims for prizes, prizes paid, prizes forfeited, and other financial transactions of the corporation;

(4) Contract with a certified public accountant or firm for an annual financial audit of the corporation. The certified public accountant or firm shall have no financial interest in any vendor with whom the corporation is under contract. The certified public accountant or firm shall present an audit report not later than four months after the end of the fiscal year. The certified public accountant or firm shall evaluate the internal auditing controls in effect during the audit period. The cost of this annual financial audit shall be an operating expense of the corporation. The state auditor may at any time conduct an audit of any phase of the operations of the Georgia Lottery Corporation at the expense of the state and shall receive a copy of the annual independent financial audit. A copy of any audit performed by the certified public accountant or firm or the state auditor shall be transmitted to the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the state auditor, the state accounting officer, and the oversight committee chairperson;

(5) Submit to the Office of Planning and Budget, the state auditor, and the state accounting officer by June 30 of each year a copy of the annual operating budget for the corporation for the next fiscal year. This annual operating budget shall be approved by the board and be on such forms as prescribed by the Office of Planning and Budget;

(6) For informational purposes only, submit to the Office of Planning and Budget on September 1 of each year a proposed operating budget for the corporation for the succeeding fiscal year. This budget proposal shall also be accompanied by an estimate of the net proceeds to be deposited into the Lottery for Education Account during the succeeding fiscal year. This budget shall be on such forms as prescribed by the Office of Planning and Budget; and

(7) Adopt the same fiscal year as that used by state government.

(b) To ensure the integrity of the administration of lottery games, the corporation shall biannually conduct and publish an audit to include:

(1) The number of lottery ticket sales by census areas;

(2) The total distribution of winnings by:

(A) Type of lottery game, such as instant games and weekly drawings;

(B) Size of lottery prizes awarded, including dollar amounts for minor and major winning tickets and the name of the lottery game;

(C) Locations of winning lottery tickets, including minor and major population and census areas; and

(D) Frequency of winning lottery tickets by census area."

SECTION 2.

All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.