Members Present:
| Representative Michael Beard | Senator Don Betzold |
| Representative Sondra Erickson | Senator David Hann |
| Representative Rick Hansen | Senator James Metzen |
| Representative Steve Simon | Senator Claire Robling |
Members Absent:
| Representative Aaron Peterson | Senator Thomas Neuville |
| Representative Connie Ruth | Senator Ann Rest |
The Legislative Audit Commission meeting was called to order by Senator James Metzen at 9:08 a.m. The primary purpose of the meeting was to elect new officers of the commission as required by law.
Since a quorum was not present at the start of the meeting, Senator Metzen asked Jim Nobles, Legislative Auditor, to explain the Audit Fee Bill (H.F. 83 / S.F. 41). Mr. Nobles stated the bill would allow the Office of the Legislative Auditor (OLA) to retain the fees paid by four organizations for audits conducted by the Legislative Auditor, which currently get deposited into the General Fund. The amount would be approximately $125,000 per year. In response to a question, Mr. Nobles expressed mixed feelings regarding the bill; however, he said the OLA is pressed for resources and the legislation is one way to help.
Once a quorum was attained, Senator Metzen nominated Representative Hansen to be commission chair and Senator Robling to be commission vice chair for 2007 and 2008. Both motions passed unanimously by a voice vote, and Representative Hansen assumed the chair.
The meeting moved to the issue of topic selection. Mr. Nobles provided a tentative schedule for the Topic Selection Subcommittee, urging that it be followed in order for six to eight topics to be selected by the Easter/Passover break. He said this would allow OLA staff to begin working on the evaluations, yet still leave room to add one or two more topics if issues arise during the session. Representative Hansen appointed the following members to serve on the Topic Selection Subcommittee: Representative Ruth, Representative Simon, Senator Robling, and Senator Rest as the chair. Representative Hansen also appointed himself to serve as an ex officio member of the subcommittee.
Mr. Nobles thanked the commission members for the work they do. He then introduced some of the OLA staff who were present at the meeting. In response to Representative Simon’s request, Mr. Nobles said he would provide a list of OLA staff to all commission members.
With no further business, Representative Hansen adjourned the meeting at 9:28 a.m.
Representative Rick Hansen, Chair
Shelly Watterud, Recording Secretary
