Recovery audits.

Existing law prescribes the duties of the Controller, including auditing all claims against the state and the disbursement of state money, for correctness, legality, and for sufficient provisions of law for payment. This bill would authorize the Controller to contract with consultants to provide semiannual recovery audits of state agencies with expenditures exceeding $50,000,000 in a fiscal year, unless excepted by regulation. The bill would authorize reasonable payment to the consultants, as specified. The bill would require contracts made under its provisions to apply the same confidentiality provisions to consultants as are applicable to the Controller, the state agency that is subject to the audit, or employees of the Controller or the state agency. The bill would further require the Controller to provide copies of the consultants' audit reports to the Department of Finance and the State Auditor, and would, until January 1, 2017, require annual reports by the Controller to the Legislature summarizing these audits.