MONTGOMERY — The Alabama Senate Governmental Affairs Committee on Tuesday again considered a bill that would eliminate the Office of the State Auditor.
The bill, SB 83, would not affect the current officeholder, State Auditor Jim Zeigler. As a constitutional amendment, the bill would go on the November general election ballot for a referendum if passed by the legislature; upon a successful referendum, SB 83 would go into effect following Zeigler’s current term. He is term-limited.
The state auditor’s duties and responsibilities would be transferred to the existing Department of Examiners of Public Accounts; additionally, the state auditor’s duty to make an appointment to each local board of registrars would be transferred to the lieutenant governor.
The bill sponsor, State Sen. Andrew Jones (R-Centre), has argued that the State Auditor’s office in recent years has been downsized to such an extent that the office only catalogs state property and that that duty could be more efficiently completed by the Department of Examiners of Public Accounts. That department already handles the auditing of state finances.
Zeigler argues the bill would not save money.
“The money savings simply would not be there,” he said last week. “The people of Alabama want to maintain the ability to elect their state auditors and not have all of the auditing done by an agency not subject to election.”
The bill on Tuesday was carried over to the call of the chair for the second consecutive week. A substitute is expected to be offered in committee in the coming weeks.
Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
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