CHAPTER 262
HB 1448 – FINAL VERSION
03Mar2010… 0709h
04/07/10 1208s
02Jun2010… 2269cofc
2010 SESSION
06/05
HOUSE BILL 1448
AN ACT relative to town audits.
SPONSORS: Rep. Cooney, Graf 7; Rep. Hatch, Coos 3; Rep. Mulholland, Graf 10; Rep. K. Gould, Rock 5; Sen. DeVries, Dist 18
COMMITTEE: Municipal and County Government
This bill establishes procedures for the conduct of town financial audits and makes certain technical corrections relative to town government.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
03Mar2010… 0709h
04/07/10 1208s
02Jun2010… 2269cofc
10-2031
06/05
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Ten
AN ACT relative to town audits.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
262:1 New Sections; Town Auditors. Amend RSA 41 by inserting after section 31 the following new sections:
41:31-a Purpose. Financial audits play a fundamentally vital role in helping to preserve the integrity of the public finance functions and by maintaining citizens’ confidence in their elected leaders. Properly performed audits provide independent assurance that financial information presented is reliable.
41:31-b Choice; Election. Any municipality that has not hired an auditor under RSA 21-J:19 shall, at the annual meeting, under an article in the warrant, choose one or more auditors. The terms of office shall be staggered so that after the year of adoption one auditor shall be chosen for a term of office for the same number of years as there are auditors on the board, provided however that in the year of adoption the members of the board shall be chosen for varying terms so that the term of one member shall expire in the next succeeding year, the term of the second member, the next year, and so on for the number of years as there are members of the board. The auditor or board of auditors shall perform the duties under RSA 41:31-c and RSA 41:31-d. If a municipality has adopted an official ballot for the election of its officers, the election of an auditor or board of auditors shall not take place until the annual meeting following the meeting at which the provisions of this section are adopted.
41:31-c Duties.
I. All municipalities shall annually, or more often as necessary, conduct an audit of the accounts of any officer or agent handling funds of the municipality. Elected auditors conducting such audits shall follow audit procedures in rules adopted by the commissioner pursuant to RSA 541-A.
II. Any municipality, or any political subdivision exclusively within a municipality, with a population of fewer than 750 as of the most recent federal census, provided a financial statement audit is not required by another law, regulation, or contract, may, not less than 45 days before the end of the fiscal year, petition the commissioner to waive the annual audit requirement for that fiscal year and provide an alternative plan for reviewing the municipality’s financial accounts. If the commissioner approves the scope of services as proposed by the municipality, such services shall be completed by either the locally elected auditor or a CPA. If the commissioner does not approve or no alternative procedures or scope of services is provided by the municipality, then the commissioner shall determine the appropriate scope of services.
41:31-d Reports.
I. A complete report of any audit or procedure conducted under RSA 41:31-c shall, upon completion, be made available to the public in accordance with RSA 21-J:19.
II. Unless otherwise required by law, within 10 days of the acceptance by the governing body of any completed audit, a complete copy of the audit and any accompanying management letter shall be submitted to the commissioner by the governing body. If the governing body has not accepted the audit and any applicable adjustments within 45 days of its receipt, the audit as received or adjusted and any accompanying management letter shall be submitted to the commissioner by the governing body with an explanation for non-acceptance. The governing body may, for good cause, petition the commissioner for an extension of time for submittal.
262:2 School Districts; Auditors. Amend RSA 671:5 to read as follows:
671:5 Auditors. At each district election, each district which is not a cooperative school district as defined in RSA 195:1 shall elect one or more auditors. In a district voting to elect 2 or more auditors, their terms shall be staggered so that one auditor shall be elected each year for a term of office of the same number of years as there are auditors; provided, however, that, in the first year, the auditors shall be chosen for varying terms so that the term of one auditor shall expire in the next succeeding year, the term of the second auditor, the next year, and so on for the number of years as there are number of auditors. When voters of the district direct the school board to request an audit [by the municipal services division of the department of revenue administration or] by independent public accountants from outside the district, they shall not be required to choose auditors for the year covered by said audit.
262:3 New Paragraph; District Taxes; Reports Required; Cities and School Districts. Amend RSA 198:4-d by inserting after paragraph V the following new paragraph:
VI. If a city or school district is audited under RSA 671:5, the procedures in RSA 41:31-a through 41:31-d shall be followed.
262:4 Auditors. RSA 197:25 is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:
197:25 Auditors. If a district has not hired an auditor under RSA 21-J:19, the locally elected auditors shall carefully examine the accounts of the treasurer and school board at the close of each fiscal year by following the procedures in RSA 41:31-a through 41:31-d.
262:5 Selectmen’s Lists and Warrant. Amend RSA 76:10, II to read as follows:
II. If the municipal tax collector finds a discrepancy of 1/2 of one percent or more between the amount of the warrant as committed to the tax collector of the municipality and the total property tax commitment calculated by the commissioner of revenue administration, based on the pertinent information provided by the municipality under RSA 21-J:34, the collector shall return the warrant to the municipality’s assessing officials for correction. If a correction cannot be made to generate a warrant with less than 1/2 of one percent discrepancy, the assessing officials shall submit a revised property summary inventory of valuation form as required under RSA 21-J:34, I, for recalculation of the tax rate by the commissioner of revenue administration. The municipality shall not issue property tax bills until such discrepancy is resolved. A copy of the signed warrant total page and an actual tax bill shall be submitted to the department of revenue administration by the tax collector.
262:6 Method of Adopting Official Ballot Referendum Form of Meeting. Amend RSA 40:14, VII to read as follows:
VII. Any local political subdivision which has adopted RSA 40:13 may consider rescinding its action in the manner described in [RSA 40:13,] paragraphs III-VI. The wording of the question shall be: “Shall we rescind the provisions of RSA 40:13 (known as SB 2), as adopted by the (local political subdivision) on (date of adoption), so that the official ballot will no longer be used for voting on all questions, but only for the election of officers and certain other questions for which the official ballot is required by state law?” A 3/5 majority of those voting on the question shall be required to rescind the provisions of this subdivision, except in the case of repeal by charter enactment under RSA 49-D. Only votes in the affirmative or negative shall be included in the calculation of the 3/5 majority.
262:7 Petition and Ballot. Amend RSA 41:8-b to read as follows:
41:8-b Petition and Ballot. Upon written [petition of not less than 2 percent of the legal voters of any town, addressed and delivered to the selectmen] application of 25 or more registered voters or 2 percent of the registered voters in town, whichever is less, although in no event shall fewer than 10 registered voters be sufficient, presented to the selectmen or one of them not later than the fifth Tuesday before any annual meeting, the following question, as requested in the application, shall be submitted to the voters at the meeting: “Are you in favor of increasing the board of selectmen to 5 members?” In towns having an official ballot the question shall appear upon the ballot, pursuant to RSA 656:13. In towns where no official ballot is used, the vote on this question shall be by special ballot. After the question, squares with the words “yes” and “no” shall be printed on the ballot in which the voter may mark his or her choice, pursuant to RSA 656:13.
262:8 Taxation, Procedure. Amend RSA 52:16, I to read as follows:
I. Whenever the district votes to raise money by taxation or otherwise for any of its purposes, the clerk shall, within [10] 20 days thereafter, deliver a certified copy of such vote to the selectmen of each town which contains any part of the district and to the commissioner of revenue administration. Whether or not the district is situated wholly within one town, the selectmen of each town shall assess the tax on that part of the district lying within their own town and commit it to the collector of taxes from their own town. The collectors shall then collect the tax as required by law. The selectmen may make such assessments in the manner provided under RSA 76:4.
262:9 Repeal. RSA 41:31, relative to the choice and duties of town auditors, is repealed.
262:10 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
Approved: July 6, 2010
Effective Date: September 4, 2010