Bill Text: NY S04190 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Directs the metropolitan transportation authority to contract with a certified public accounting firm for the conducting of an independent forensic audit of such authority.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - REFERRED TO TRANSPORTATION [S04190 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S04190-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          4190

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    February 6, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen.  LANZA  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation

        AN ACT to amend the public authorities law, in relation to directing the
          metropolitan transportation authority to contract for the provision of
          an independent forensic audit of such authority; and providing for the
          repeal of such provisions upon the expiration thereof

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1.  The  public  authorities  law  is amended by adding a new
     2  section 1265-c to read as follows:
     3    § 1265-c. Independent forensic audit.  1.  Notwithstanding  any  other
     4  provision  of  law, the authority shall, within sixty days of the effec-
     5  tive date of this section and at its own expense, contract with a certi-
     6  fied public accounting firm for the provision of an independent, compre-
     7  hensive, forensic audit of the authority. Such audit shall be  performed
     8  in  accordance  with  generally  accepted government auditing standards.
     9  Such audit shall be independent of and in addition  to  the  independent
    10  audit  of  the  authority  conducted  pursuant  to  section twenty-eight
    11  hundred two of this chapter.
    12    2. The certified independent  public  accounting  firm  providing  the
    13  authority's  independent, comprehensive, forensic audit shall be prohib-
    14  ited from providing audit services if the lead (or  coordinating)  audit
    15  partner  (having  primary  responsibility  for  the audit), or the audit
    16  partner  responsible  for  reviewing  the  audit,  has  performed  audit
    17  services  for  the authority within any of the ten previous fiscal years
    18  of the authority.
    19    3. The certified independent  accounting  firm  performing  the  audit
    20  pursuant to this section shall be prohibited from performing any non-au-
    21  dit services for the authority contemporaneously with the audit.
    22    4.  It  shall  be  prohibited  for  the  certified  independent public
    23  accounting firm to perform for the authority any audit  service  if  the

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD08507-01-3
        S. 4190                             2

     1  chief  executive  officer,  comptroller,  chief financial officer, chief
     2  accounting officer or any other person serving in an equivalent position
     3  in the authority was an employee, consultant or  independent  contractor
     4  of that certified independent public accounting firm and participated in
     5  any capacity in the audit of the authority at any time in the past.
     6    5.  The  certified  independent  public  accounting firm contracted to
     7  perform the independent comprehensive, forensic audit of  the  authority
     8  shall,  on  or before January first, two thousand twenty-six, report its
     9  findings, conclusions and recommendations to  the  governor,  the  state
    10  comptroller,  the  temporary president of the senate, the speaker of the
    11  assembly, the chair and ranking minority member of  the  senate  finance
    12  committee,  the  chair  and ranking minority member of the assembly ways
    13  and means committee, the chairs and  ranking  minority  members  of  the
    14  senate  and  the  assembly  corporations,  authorities  and  commissions
    15  committees, and the chairs and ranking minority members  of  the  senate
    16  and the assembly transportation committees.
    17    §  2.  This act shall take effect immediately, and shall expire and be
    18  deemed repealed January 2, 2026.