93.9 The Eagle – The News and Talk of Columbia, MO
A state senator who represents mid-Missouri’s Callaway and Montgomery counties has filed legislation to allow the state auditor to audit municipalities when it appears that wrongdoing is happening.
State Sen. Travis Fitzwater (R-Holts Summit) has filed Senate Bill 1048, which his former Missouri House colleague and current State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick supports.
“The office will receive a complaint from somebody about mismanagement or fraud at a local government and the auditor has the ability to go conduct an investigation into that allegation but does not have the ability under the law to conduct an audit,” Auditor Fitzpatrick says.
He tells “Wake Up Mid-Missouri” that current law only allows his office to conduct an audit of municipalities if citizens petition for one or if the political subdivision leaders request one. Senator Fitzwater’s bill also gives the auditor’s office subpoena power.
“We only really have the ability to audit state agencies. We can audit school districts, we can audit county governments if they don’t have their own county auditor. But outside of that we have to be invited in to audit like cities for instance or to audit a road district or an ambulance district,” says Fitzpatrick.
A similar bipartisan bill was in a conference committee during the 2023 session’s final week in May but died due to a Senate filibuster on unrelated issues. You can listen to the full interview with Auditor Fitzpatrick here.
