AN ACT CONCERNING THE AUDITORS OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS, AUDITS OF PRIVATE ENTITIES AND PERFORMANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY STANDARDS FOR STATE AND QUASI-PUBLIC AGENCIES.

Senate
sSB251 / File No. 346 1

General Assembly File No. 346
February Session, 2026 Substitute Senate Bill No. 251

Senate, April 2, 2026

The Committee on Government Oversight reported through
SEN. GADKAR-WILCOX of the 22nd Dist., Chairperson of the
Committee on the part of the Senate, that the substitute bill
ought to pass.

AN ACT CONCERNING THE AUDITORS OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS,
AUDITS OF PRIVATE ENTITIES AND PERFORMANCE AND
ACCOUNTABILITY STANDARDS FOR STATE AND QUASI-PUBLIC
AGENCIES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:

Section 1. Section 2-90 of the 2026 supplement to the general statutes 1
is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective 2
October 1, 2026): 3
(a) The Auditors of Public Accounts shall organize the work of their 4
office in such manner as they deem most economical and efficient and, 5
except as provided in subsection (d) of this section, shall determine the 6
scope and frequency of any audit they conduct. 7
(b) Said auditors, with the Comptroller, shall, at least annually and as 8
frequently as they deem necessary, audit the books and accounts of the 9
Treasurer, including, but not limited to, trust funds, as defined in section 10
3-13c, and certify the results to the Governor. The auditors shall, at least 11
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annually and as frequently as they deem necessary, audit the books and 12
accounts of the Comptroller and certify the results to the Governor. 13
They shall examine and prepare certificates of audit with respect to the 14
financial statements contained in the annual reports of the Treasurer 15
and Comptroller, which certificates shall be made part of such annual 16
reports. In carrying out their responsibilities under this section, said 17
auditors may retain independent auditors to assist them. 18
(c) (1) Said auditors shall audit, on a biennial basis if deemed most 19
economical and efficient, or as frequently as they deem necessary, the 20
books and accounts, records of operations and activities, systems and 21
data of each officer, department, commission, board and court of the 22
state government, all institutions supported by the state and all public 23
and quasi -public bodies, politic and corporate, created by public or 24
special act of the General Assembly and not required to be audited or 25
subject to reporting requirements, under the provisions of chapter 111, 26
except as provided in subsection (d) of this section. 27
(2) Each such audit may include an examination of any relevant 28
information concerning the department, commission, board or court of 29
state government being audited that is in the possession or control of a 30
private entity that has a contract with such department, commission, 31
board or court, and such information shall be provided upon demand 32
in a format prescribed by the auditors at no cost to the auditors or the 33
department, commission, board or court. 34
(3) For each such audit of a private entity that receives two hundred 35
fifty thousand dollars or more in state funds annually to provide 36
housing or human services, the auditors shall visit the principal office 37
of such entity as part of the audit, unless such entity is subject to a single 38
audit or a program-specific audit pursuant to section 4-231. 39
[(3)] (4) Each such audit may include an examination of performance 40
in order to determine effectiveness in achieving expressed legislative 41
purposes. The joint standing committee of the General Assembly having 42
cognizance of matters relating to government oversight may request the 43
auditors to perform a limited performance engagement. Not later than 44
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sixty days after receipt of such request, the auditors shall respond 45
regarding whether they will perform such limited performance 46
engagement and, if so, the suggested scope and schedule for such 47
engagement. The auditors shall perform any such limited performance 48
engagement within available appropriations. As used in this 49
subdivision, a "limited performance engagement" means a review of a 50
specific program or entity pursuant to an agreement between the 51
chairpersons and ranking members of the joint standing committee of 52
the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to 53
government oversight and the auditors concerning the objectives, scope, 54
methodology and timing of such engagement. 55
[(4)] (5) The auditors shall report their findings and recommendations 56
to the Governor, the State Comptroller and the joint standing 57
committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters 58
relating to appropriations and the budgets of state agencies and 59
government oversight. 60
(d) Not later than July 1, 2026, and annually thereafter, the auditors 61
shall submit a proposed schedule for the audits they plan to conduct 62
during the following fiscal year to the joint standing committee of the 63
General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to government 64
oversight. 65
(e) The Auditors of Public Accounts may enter into such contractual 66
agreements as may be necessary for the discharge of their duties. Any 67
audit or report which is prepared by a person, firm or corporation 68
pursuant to any contract with the Auditors of Public Accounts shall bear 69
the signature of the person primarily responsible for the preparation of 70
such audit or report. As used in this subsection, the term "person" means 71
a natural person. 72
(f) (1) If the Auditors of Public Accounts discover, or if it should come 73
to their knowledge, that any unauthorized, illegal, irregular or unsafe 74
handling or expenditure of state funds or quasi-public agency funds or 75
any breakdown in the safekeeping of any resources of the state or a 76
quasi-public agency has occurred or is contemplated, they shall 77
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forthwith report the facts to the Governor, the State Comptroller, the 78
clerk of each house of the General Assembly, the joint standing 79
committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters 80
relating to government oversight and the Attorney General, except that 81
if a matter reported to the Auditors of Public Accounts pursuant to 82
section 4 -33a is still under investigation by a state or quasi -public 83
agency, the Auditors of Public Accounts may give the agency a 84
reasonable amount of time to conduct such investigation prior to the 85
auditors reporting the matter to said officials and committee. 86
(2) If the Auditors of Public Accounts decide to delay reporting such 87
matter in accordance with subdivision (1) of this subsection, the auditors 88
shall immediately notify the Attorney General of such decision. 89
(3) Any Auditor of Public Accounts neglecting to make the report 90
required under subdivision (1) of this subsection, or any agent of the 91
auditors neglecting to report to the Auditors of Public Accounts any 92
such matter discovered by such agent or coming to such agent's 93
knowledge, shall be fined not more than one hundred dollars or 94
imprisoned not more than six months, or both. 95
(4) Any state agency or quasi -public agency that is the subject of a 96
report of the Auditors of Public Accounts that contains violations of 97
state statute or regulation, other than only minor or technical 98
recommendations, not later than six months after the issuance of the 99
auditors' report, shall report on the status of any corrective action 100
undertaken by such state agency or quasi-public agency to address such 101
violations, to the auditors, the Governor and the General Assembly, in 102
accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a. Upon the receipt of the 103
agency's report, the joint standing committee of the General Assembly 104
having cognizance of matters relating to government oversight may 105
request the auditors to verify any matter in the agency's corrective 106
action report and the auditors shall have not more than sixty days to 107
respond to such request. 108
(5) The auditors may establish performance and accountability 109
standards for any state agency or quasi-public agency that is the subject 110
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of a report of the Auditors of Public Accounts that contains substantial 111
violations of state statute or regulation concerning one or more 112
contracts. The auditors may require the state agency or quasi -public 113
agency to meet such standards, to the satisfaction of the auditors, prior 114
to the agency or quasi-public agency renewing such contracts. 115
(g) All reports issued or made pursuant to this section shall be 116
retained in the offices of the Auditors of Public Accounts for a period of 117
not less than five years. The auditors shall file one copy of each such 118
report with the State Librarian. 119
(h) Each state agency shall keep its accounts in such form and by such 120
methods as to exhibit the facts required by said auditors and, the 121
provisions of any other general statute notwithstanding, shall make all 122
records and accounts available to them or their agents, upon demand. 123
Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes, no state agency 124
may deny the auditors access to their records or accounts. 125
(i) Where there are statutory requirements of confidentiality with 126
regard to such records and accounts or examinations of 127
nongovernmental entities which are maintained by a state agency, such 128
requirements of confidentiality and the penalties for the violation 129
thereof shall apply to the auditors and to their authorized 130
representatives in the same manner and to the same extent as such 131
requirements of confidentiality and penalties apply to such state agency. 132
In addition, the portion of (1) any audit or report prepared by the 133
Auditors of Public Accounts that concerns the internal control structure 134
of a state information system or the identity of an employee who 135
provides information regarding alleged fraud or weaknesses in the 136
control structure of a state agency that may lead to fraud, or (2) any 137
document that may reveal the identity of such employee, shall not be 138
subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, as defined 139
in section 1-200. 140
(j) Said auditors shall audit, in accordance with the provisions of 141
section 10 -91g, the records and accounts of any private provider of 142
special education services, as defined in said section. Any private 143
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provider of special education services being audited by said auditors 144
shall provide any information said auditors deem necessary to conduct 145
such audit. 146
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:

Section 1 October 1, 2026 2-90

GOS Joint Favorable Subst.

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The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of
the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not
represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose. In general,
fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional
knowledge. Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final
products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.

OFA Fiscal Note

State Impact:
Agency Affected Fund-Effect FY 27 $ FY 28 $
Auditors GF - Potential
Cost
Minimal Minimal
Note: GF=General Fund
Municipal Impact: None
Explanation
The bill requires the Auditors of Public Accounts (APA) to perform a
physical site visit for certain audits resulting in a potential minimal cost
for increased mileage reimbursement to the extent these audits occur.
The bill also allows the APA to establish certain performance and
accountability standards resulting in no fiscal impact to the state.
The Out Years
The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would
continue into the future subject to inflation.

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OLR Bill Analysis
sSB 251

AN ACT CONCERNING THE AUDITORS OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS,
AUDITS OF PRIVATE ENTITIES AND PERFORMANCE AND
ACCOUNTABILITY STANDARDS FOR STATE AND QUASI -PUBLIC
AGENCIES.

SUMMARY
This bill increases the authority of the Auditors of Public Accounts
(APA) by authorizing the APA to:
1. establish performance and accountability standards for any
agency or quasi-public agency that was found in an APA report
to have substantial violations of state statute or regulation related
to contracts;
2. require the state or quasi -public agency to meet the standards
before renewing any relevant contract; and
3. require physical site visits, as part of an audit, to the principal
office of a housing or human services provider that receives at
least $250,000 in state funds annually, unless they are subject to a
single or program-specific audit (non-state entities expending at
least $500,000 in a fiscal year are subject to one of these audits).
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2026
COMMITTEE ACTION
Government Oversight Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 12 Nay 0 (03/17/2026)