ENGROSSED
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 281
(By Senators Manchin, Sharpe, Dugan, Oliverio,
Wiedebusch, Helmick, Ross, Buckalew, Anderson and Schoonover)
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[Originating in the Committee on Government
Organization; reported March 2, 1995.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section fourteen, article four,
chapter twelve of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to audits of
volunteer fire departments receiving state funds or grants
in the amount of fifteen thousand dollars or more; providing
that the volunteer fire department may satisfy the audit
requirement by submitting a sworn statement of expenditures
which is made under oath and acknowledged before a notary
public; making it a felony to file such a sworn statement of
expenditures which is fraudulent; and prescribing criminal
penalties.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section fourteen, article four, chapter twelve of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 4. ACCOUNTS, REPORTS AND GENERAL PROVISIONS.
§12-4-14. Audits of corporations, associations or other
organizations which receive state funds or grants.
Any corporation, association or other organization in West
Virginia, whether nonprofit or for profit, which receives state
funds or grants in the amount of fifteen thousand dollars or more
shall file an audit of the disbursement of funds with the
legislative auditor's office. The audit shall be filed within
two years of the disbursement of funds or grants by the grantee
and shall be made by an independent certified public accountant
at the cost of the corporation, association or other organization
and must show that the funds or grants were spent for the
purposes intended when the grant was made. State funds or audits
of state funds or grants under fifteen thousand dollars may be
authorized by the joint committee on government and finance to be
conducted by the legislative auditor's office, at no cost to the
grantee: Provided, That volunteer fire departments will satisfy
the audit requirements of this section by submitting a sworn
statement of annual expenditures to the legislative auditor's
office on or before the fourteenth day of February of each year,
if such volunteer fire department elects not to be audited. The
sworn statement of expenditures must be signed by the chief or
director of the volunteer fire department, and shall be made
under oath and acknowledged before a notary public. The office
of the legislative auditor may assign an employee or employees to
perform random audits of the disbursement of funds or grants to
volunteer fire departments. Any person who files a fraudulent
sworn statement of expenditures under this section is guilty of a felony, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less
than one thousand dollars and not more than five thousand
dollars, or imprisoned in the state penitentiary for a period of
time not less than one year nor more than five years, or both
fined and imprisoned.