77th OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2013 Regular Session

NOTE:  Matter within  { +  braces and plus signs + } in an
amended section is new. Matter within  { -  braces and minus
signs - } is existing law to be omitted. New sections are within
 { +  braces and plus signs + } .

LC 1727

                         House Bill 2827

Sponsored by COMMITTEE ON CONSUMER PROTECTION AND GOVERNMENT
  EFFICIENCY

                             SUMMARY

The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the
measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject to
consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor's
brief statement of the essential features of the measure as
introduced.

  Requires contracting agency to pay fee to Secretary of State in
amount of five one-hundredths of one percent of contract price
for public improvement contract. Requires Secretary of State to
use proceeds of fee to conduct financial, performance and
compliance audits of public contracts in accordance with certain
standards.
  Establishes Public Contracting Audit Account in General Fund of
State Treasury. Continuously appropriates moneys in account to
Secretary of State for purpose of conducting audits of public
contracts.
  Declares emergency, effective on passage.

                        A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to public contracts; appropriating money; and declaring
  an emergency.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
  SECTION 1.  { + Section 2 of this 2013 Act is added to and made
a part of ORS chapter 279C. + }
  SECTION 2.  { + (1) A contracting agency that conducts a
procurement subject to this chapter, in addition to and not in
lieu of the charges specified in ORS 297.230, shall pay a fee
equivalent to five one-hundredths of one percent of the contract
price for the procurement to the office of the Secretary of State
at the time the contracting agency executes the contract. The
Secretary of State shall pay the moneys the Secretary of State
receives under this subsection to the State Treasurer for deposit
in the Public Contracting Audit Account created under section 4
of this 2013 Act.
  (2)(a) The Secretary of State shall use the moneys available in
the Public Contracting Audit Account to conduct financial,
compliance and performance audits of public contracts that
contracting agencies award under the provisions of this chapter.
The Secretary of State shall conduct each audit according to
standards adopted under ORS 297.070 and, except as provided in
paragraph (b) of this subsection, without advance notice to the
contracting agency or other parties to the public contract.
  (b) If the Secretary of State finds during an audit or receives
at any time reliable information concerning fraud, waste,
misconduct or abuse for a particular public contract, the
Secretary of State may conduct a special investigation of the
contracting agency or other parties to the public contract and
may use moneys from the Public Contracting Audit Account to
conduct the special investigation.
  (c) The Secretary of State, in accordance with policies and
priorities that the Secretary of State establishes, each year
shall allocate the amount of moneys available or projected to be
available in the Public Contracting Audit Account during the year
toward conducting a regular course of audits under this section.
  (3) In addition to complying with the requirements of ORS
297.050, the Secretary of State shall publish the report for
every audit the Secretary of State conducts under this section on
the Secretary of State's website and on the Oregon transparency
website described in ORS 184.483. + }
  SECTION 3.  { + Section 4 of this 2013 Act is added to and made
a part of ORS chapter 297. + }
  SECTION 4.  { + The Public Contracting Audit Account is
established in the General Fund of the State Treasury. All moneys
in the Public Contracting Audit Account are continuously
appropriated to the Secretary of State for the purposes set forth
in section 2 of this 2013 Act. + }
  SECTION 5.  { + This 2013 Act being necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health and safety, an emergency
is declared to exist, and this 2013 Act takes effect on its
passage. + }
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