Bill Text: NJ S2358 | 2010-2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes Inspector General of Statewide Interscholastic Sports to monitor the operating and financial activities of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 2-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-10-18 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Education Committee [S2358 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2010-S2358-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator RICHARD J. CODEY
District 27 (Essex)
Senator THOMAS H. KEAN, JR.
District 21 (Essex, Morris, Somerset and Union)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes Inspector General of Statewide Interscholastic Sports to monitor the operating and financial activities of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act establishing the Office of the Inspector General of Statewide Interscholastic Sports and supplementing chapter 11 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. There is established the Office of the Inspector General of Statewide Interscholastic Sports. The office shall be established in the Executive Branch of the State government and for the purposes of complying with the provisions of Article V, Section IV, paragraph 1 of the New Jersey Constitution, the office shall be allocated in, but not of, the Department of Education. Notwithstanding this allocation, the office shall be independent of any supervision or control by the Commissioner of Education, or the department or by any division, board, office, or other officer thereof. The department shall provide such stenographic, clerical and other administrative assistants, and such professional staff, as the office requires to carry out its work.
b. The Inspector General shall be appointed with the advice and consent of the Senate, and shall serve at the pleasure of the Governor during the Governor's term of office and until his successor is appointed and qualified.
c. The Inspector General shall:
(1) monitor and audit the operating and financial activities of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association;
(2) in consultation with the executive committee of the association, establish strong and effective financial controls, and ensure adherence to those controls;
(3) ensure that the association's fiscal, accountability, and governance standards reflect best practices in accordance with guidelines established for the nonprofit sector;
(4) work with the association to develop a plan for the downsizing of the executive committee to not more than 30 members. The plan shall ensure that the various sectors of the association's membership are appropriately represented;
(5) work with the association to develop a code of ethics that establishes appropriate conduct by the members of the executive committee, and employees, event workers, and volunteers of the association. The code of ethics shall be adopted within one year following the effective date of this act; and
(6) prepare periodic public reports which detail the activities taken to ensure strong and effective accountability and transparency in the operations of the association. The reports shall be transmitted to the Governor, the Legislature pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), and to the respective chairpersons of the Senate Education Committee and the Assembly Education Committee or their successor committees.
2. The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association shall retain an independent outside auditor who is a certified public accountant to conduct an annual audit of the association's financial accounts in accordance with nationally recognized auditing and accounting standards. The association shall not contract for the services of an independent auditor for a period longer than five consecutive years and shall retain the services of a different independent auditor every five years.
3. The Executive Committee of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association shall establish an internal audit committee. The internal audit committee shall work with the independent auditor retained pursuant to section 2 of this act to inform and advise the executive committee on the association's financial position.
The chairperson of the committee shall possess, at a minimum, professional experience in accounting and auditing.
4. The association shall ensure that a majority of the members appointed to its finance committee shall have professional experience in accounting or financial administration.
5. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
In September of 2010, the State Commission of Investigation (SCI) issued a report addressing the finances and operations of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA). The SCI report presented several recommendations designed to address the NJSIAA's questionable and excessive expenditures and its lack of internal controls. This bill implements a number of those recommendations.
The bill establishes the Office of the Inspector General of Statewide Interscholastic Sports. Under the bill, the Inspector General will: monitor and audit the operating and financial activities of the NJSIAA; establish strong and effective financial controls, and ensure adherence to those controls; and ensure that the association's fiscal, accountability, and governance standards reflect best practices in accordance with guidelines established for the nonprofit sector. Additionally, the Inspector General will work with the association to develop a plan for the downsizing of the executive committee to not more than 30 members, and to develop a code of ethics that establishes appropriate conduct by the members of the executive committee, and employees, event workers, and volunteers of the association.
The bill also requires the NJSIAA to retain an independent outside auditor who is a certified public accountant to conduct an annual audit of the association's financial accounts. The association may not contract with an independent auditor for a period longer than five consecutive years and must retain the services of a different independent outside auditor every five years.
