HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3909        FILED ON: 2/19/2021

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 3611

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_________________

PRESENTED BY:

William M. Straus

_________________

To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act regarding audit performance and functions at the Department of Transportation.

_______________

PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3909        FILED ON: 2/19/2021

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 3611

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_______________

In the One Hundred and Ninety-Second General Court
(2021-2022)

_______________

An Act regarding audit performance and functions at the Department of Transportation.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1: Section 9 of chapter 6C of the General Laws as appearing in the 2018 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting at the end of subsection (c) the following:-

The director shall immediately notify the inspector general in writing of the existence of a documented critical disagreement between the director and the secretary of transportation, the board or an individual member thereof concerning an investigation, audit, or review. For the purposes of this subsection, a documented critical disagreement includes a disagreement involving the scope, manner, necessity, and/or thoroughness of an investigation, audit, or review. Failure of a party to comply with the good faith requests of the director shall constitute a documented critical disagreement. The writing shall contain: i) a summary of the investigation, audit, or review; ii) the nature of the disagreement between the director and the secretary, the board or an individual member thereof; iii) whether the matter under review presents a public safety risk; and iv) the director’s proposed recommendations, if any. Notification provided to the inspector general shall not be cause for dismissal or other retaliatory action taken against the director or other person employed within the unit.

SECTION 2: Said section 9 of chapter 6C, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out subsection (e) and inserting in its place the following:-

(e) On a quarterly basis, the director shall submit a written report of the unit’s activities for the preceding quarter including, but not limited to, findings referred to the inspector general for investigation, to the joint committee on transportation and the house and senate committees on ways and means. The secretary shall make the quarterly reports and all such reports from previous years available on the department's website.

The director shall submit an annual report of the unit's activities for the preceding calendar year, including, but not limited to, findings referred to the inspector general for investigation, to the joint committee on transportation and the house and senate committees on ways and means on or before March 15 of each year. The secretary shall make the annual report and all such reports from previous years available on the department's website.

SECTION 3: Said section 9 of chapter 6C, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting at the end of subsection (b) the following:-

There shall be within the unit, a position of senior information technology auditor. The senior information technology auditor should, at a minimum, possess expertise and familiarity with electronic information systems, databases, and forensic analysis.

SECTION 4: Section 2 of chapter 6C of the General Laws as appearing in the 2018 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting the following subsection:-

(l) The chair of the board’s finance and audit subcommittee shall rotate among the membership on a bi-annual basis.