Bill Title: Regarding audit and record-keeping requirements for community school sponsors and operators.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-04-15 - To Education
[SB329 Detail]Download: Ohio-2013-SB329-Introduced.html
As Introduced
130th General Assembly | Regular Session | 2013-2014 |
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Cosponsors:
Senators Gentile, Sawyer, Cafaro, Turner, Skindell, Brown, Tavares
A BILL
| To amend sections 117.11 and 149.351 and to enact | 1 |
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sections 117.102, 149.46, and 3314.031 of the | 2 |
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Revised Code regarding audit and record-keeping | 3 |
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requirements for community school sponsors and | 4 |
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 117.11 and 149.351 be amended and | 6 |
sections 117.102, 149.46, and 3314.031 of the Revised Code be | 7 |
enacted to read as follows: | 8 |
Sec. 117.102. (A) As used in this section: | 9 |
(1) "Community school" means a school established under | 10 |
Chapter 3314. of the Revised Code. | 11 |
(2) "Operator" has the same meaning as in section 3314.02 of | 12 |
the Revised Code. | 13 |
(B) The auditor of state annually shall audit each community | 14 |
school operator and each community school sponsor described in | 15 |
division (C)(1) of section 3314.02 or section 3314.021 or 3314.027 | 16 |
of the Revised Code. In the case of a nonpublic operator or | 17 |
sponsor, the audit shall cover only those accounts, reports, | 18 |
records, and files regarding the operator's or sponsor's receipt | 19 |
or expenditure of public funds relating to the operation or | 20 |
sponsorship of a community school. | 21 |
Sec. 117.11. (A) Except as otherwise provided in this | 22 |
division and in sections 117.102, 117.112, 117.113, and 117.114 of | 23 |
the Revised Code, the auditor of state shall audit each public | 24 |
office at least once every two fiscal years. The auditor of state | 25 |
shall audit a public office each fiscal year if that public office | 26 |
is required to be audited on an annual basis pursuant to "The | 27 |
Single Audit Act of 1984," 98 Stat. 2327, 31 U.S.C.A. 7501 et | 28 |
seq., as amended. In the annual or biennial audit, inquiry shall | 29 |
be made into the methods, accuracy, and legality of the accounts, | 30 |
financial reports, records, files, and reports of the office, | 31 |
whether the laws, rules, ordinances, and orders pertaining to the | 32 |
office have been observed, and whether the requirements and rules | 33 |
of the auditor of state have been complied with. Except as | 34 |
otherwise provided in this division or where auditing standards or | 35 |
procedures dictate otherwise, each audit shall cover at least one | 36 |
fiscal year. If a public office is audited only once every two | 37 |
fiscal years, the audit shall cover both fiscal years. | 38 |
(B) In addition to the annual or biennial audit provided for | 39 |
in division (A) of this section or in section 117.114 of the | 40 |
Revised Code, the auditor of state may conduct an audit of a | 41 |
public office at any time when so requested by the public office | 42 |
or upon the auditor of state's own initiative if the auditor of | 43 |
state has reasonable cause to believe that an additional audit is | 44 |
in the public interest. | 45 |
(C)(1) The auditor of state shall identify any public office | 46 |
in which the auditor of state will be unable to conduct an audit | 47 |
at least once every two fiscal years as required by division (A) | 48 |
of this section and shall provide immediate written notice to the | 49 |
clerk of the legislative authority or governing board of the | 50 |
public office so identified. Within six months of the receipt of | 51 |
such notice, the legislative authority or governing board may | 52 |
engage an independent certified public accountant to conduct an | 53 |
audit pursuant to section 117.12 of the Revised Code. | 54 |
(2) When the chief fiscal officer of a public office notifies | 55 |
the auditor of state that an audit is required at a time prior to | 56 |
the next regularly scheduled audit by the auditor of state, the | 57 |
auditor of state shall either cause an earlier audit to be made by | 58 |
the auditor of state or authorize the legislative authority or | 59 |
governing board of the public office to engage an independent | 60 |
certified public accountant to conduct the required audit. The | 61 |
scope of the audit shall be as authorized by the auditor of state. | 62 |
(3) The auditor of state shall approve the scope of an audit | 63 |
under division (C)(1) or (2) of this section as set forth in the | 64 |
contract for the proposed audit before the contract is executed on | 65 |
behalf of the public office that is to be audited. The independent | 66 |
accountant conducting an audit under division (C)(1) or (2) of | 67 |
this section shall be paid by the public office. | 68 |
(4) The contract for attest services with an independent | 69 |
accountant employed pursuant to this section or section 115.56 of | 70 |
the Revised Code may include binding arbitration provisions, | 71 |
provisions of Chapter 2711. of the Revised Code, or any other | 72 |
alternative dispute resolution procedures to be followed in the | 73 |
event a dispute remains between the state or public office and the | 74 |
independent accountant concerning the terms of or services under | 75 |
the contract, or a breach of the contract, after the | 76 |
administrative provisions of the contract have been exhausted. | 77 |
(D) If a uniform accounting network is established under | 78 |
section 117.101 of the Revised Code, the auditor of state or a | 79 |
certified public accountant employed pursuant to this section or | 80 |
section 115.56 or 117.112 of the Revised Code shall, to the extent | 81 |
practicable, utilize services offered by the network in order to | 82 |
conduct efficient and economical audits of public offices. | 83 |
(E) The auditor of state, in accordance with division (A)(3) | 84 |
of section 9.65 of the Revised Code and this section, may audit an | 85 |
annuity program for volunteer fire fighters established by a | 86 |
political subdivision under section 9.65 of the Revised Code. As | 87 |
used in this section, "volunteer fire fighters" and "political | 88 |
subdivision" have the same meanings as in division (C) of section | 89 |
9.65 of the Revised Code. | 90 |
Sec. 149.351. (A) All records are the property of the public | 91 |
office concerned and shall not be removed, destroyed, mutilated, | 92 |
transferred, or otherwise damaged or disposed of, in whole or in | 93 |
part, except as provided by law or under the rules adopted by the | 94 |
records commissions provided for under sections 149.38 to 149.42 | 95 |
and section 149.46 of the Revised Code or under the records | 96 |
programs established by the boards of trustees of state-supported | 97 |
institutions of higher education under section 149.33 of the | 98 |
Revised Code. Those records shall be delivered by outgoing | 99 |
officials and employees to their successors and shall not be | 100 |
otherwise removed, destroyed, mutilated, or transferred | 101 |
unlawfully. | 102 |
(B) Any person who is aggrieved by the removal, destruction, | 103 |
mutilation, or transfer of, or by other damage to or disposition | 104 |
of a record in violation of division (A) of this section, or by | 105 |
threat of such removal, destruction, mutilation, transfer, or | 106 |
other damage to or disposition of such a record, may commence | 107 |
either or both of the following in the court of common pleas of | 108 |
the county in which division (A) of this section allegedly was | 109 |
violated or is threatened to be violated: | 110 |
(1) A civil action for injunctive relief to compel compliance | 111 |
with division (A) of this section, and to obtain an award of the | 112 |
reasonable attorney's fees incurred by the person in the civil | 113 |
action; | 114 |
(2) A civil action to recover a forfeiture in the amount of | 115 |
one thousand dollars for each violation, but not to exceed a | 116 |
cumulative total of ten thousand dollars, regardless of the number | 117 |
of violations, and to obtain an award of the reasonable attorney's | 118 |
fees incurred by the person in the civil action not to exceed the | 119 |
forfeiture amount recovered. | 120 |
(C)(1) A person is not aggrieved by a violation of division | 121 |
(A) of this section if clear and convincing evidence shows that | 122 |
the request for a record was contrived as a pretext to create | 123 |
potential liability under this section. The commencement of a | 124 |
civil action under division (B) of this section waives any right | 125 |
under this chapter to decline to divulge the purpose for | 126 |
requesting the record, but only to the extent needed to evaluate | 127 |
whether the request was contrived as a pretext to create potential | 128 |
liability under this section. | 129 |
(2) In a civil action under division (B) of this section, if | 130 |
clear and convincing evidence shows that the request for a record | 131 |
was a pretext to create potential liability under this section, | 132 |
the court may award reasonable attorney's fees to any defendant or | 133 |
defendants in the action. | 134 |
(D) Once a person recovers a forfeiture in a civil action | 135 |
commenced under division (B)(2) of this section, no other person | 136 |
may recover a forfeiture under that division for a violation of | 137 |
division (A) of this section involving the same record, regardless | 138 |
of the number of persons aggrieved by a violation of division (A) | 139 |
of this section or the number of civil actions commenced under | 140 |
this section. | 141 |
(E) A civil action for injunctive relief under division | 142 |
(B)(1) of this section or a civil action to recover a forfeiture | 143 |
under division (B)(2) of this section shall be commenced within | 144 |
five years after the day in which division (A) of this section was | 145 |
allegedly violated or was threatened to be violated. | 146 |
Sec. 149.46. Each community school, established under Chapter | 147 |
3314. of the Revised Code, shall have a school records commission. | 148 |
The commission shall meet at least once every twelve months. The | 149 |
function of the commission shall be to review applications for | 150 |
one-time disposal of obsolete records and schedules of records | 151 |
retention and disposition submitted by any employee of the school. | 152 |
The commission may dispose of records pursuant to the procedure | 153 |
outlined in section 149.381 of the Revised Code. The commission, | 154 |
at any time, may review any schedule it has previously approved | 155 |
and, for good cause shown, may revise that schedule under the | 156 |
procedure outlined in that section. | 157 |
Sec. 3314.031. Each nonpublic operator of a community school | 158 |
and each nonpublic entity that sponsors a community school shall | 159 |
comply with section 149.43 of the Revised Code as if it were a | 160 |
public office with respect to all records pertaining to the | 161 |
management or sponsorship of the school. | 162 |
Section 2. That existing sections 117.11 and 149.351 of the | 163 |
Revised Code are hereby repealed. | 164 |