What can Florida's Attorney General do about an outside audit of a county supervisor of elections?

Plain-English summary

This is an informal letter, not a formal AG opinion. Hillsborough County's attorney forwarded an Ernst & Young audit of the county Supervisor of Elections (for the year ending September 30, 2008) and asked the Attorney General's Office to review it and take any action it deemed appropriate. Assistant Attorney General Joslyn Wilson replied that the office "has no specific authority over the actions taken by the supervisor of elections."

Rather than leave the county without direction, the letter pointed to the offices and statutes that do handle this. Under the Uniform Local Government Financial Management and Reporting Act (Part III, Chapter 218), local governments must file annual financial reports, and entities that obtain an audit must submit it with that report. The letter noted the Chief Financial Officer's duty under section 17.041(1) to settle county accounts and claims reported by the Auditor General or county officials, and pointed out that county audit reports under section 218.39 go to the Auditor General. The practical takeaway from the letter: complaints about a supervisor's finances run through the financial-reporting and audit channels, not through the Attorney General.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2009. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Background and statutory framework

The Attorney General's role is set by statute. Here the office concluded it had no oversight authority over a county supervisor of elections and instead identified the financial-accountability framework. Section 218.32(1) requires each reporting local government and independent special district to file an annual financial report with the Department of Financial Services, and (under subsections (d) and (e)) to submit any audit report with it within set deadlines. Section 116.03 requires county fee officers to report fees, commissions, and remuneration collected to the Department, while section 218.36 sets county officers' financial-reporting duties and provides an exemption for officers who comply with it.

The letter also identified two places where accountability is actually enforced. Section 17.041(1) makes it the Chief Financial Officer's duty to adjust and settle county accounts and claims reported by the Auditor General or the appropriate county or district official against officers, employees, or others accountable for county funds. And section 218.39 directs that county financial audit reports, along with any officer's written explanation or rebuttal, be submitted to the Auditor General within 45 days after delivery to the governing body, but no later than 12 months after the fiscal year ends. The office suggested the county contact the Chief Financial Officer.

Common questions

Q: Did the Attorney General review the elections audit?
A: No. The office stated it had no specific authority over the supervisor of elections' actions, so it declined to act on the audit and instead pointed to the financial-reporting framework.

Q: Where do county financial audit reports go?
A: Under section 218.39, a county financial audit report (with any officer's rebuttal) is submitted to the Auditor General within 45 days after delivery to the governing body, and no later than 12 months after the end of the fiscal year.

Q: Who settles claims about misused county funds?
A: The letter pointed to the Chief Financial Officer, whose duty under section 17.041(1) is to adjust and settle county accounts and claims reported by the Auditor General or county officials against persons accountable for county money.

Citations and references

Statutes:

• § 218.32(1), Fla. Stat. (annual financial report filing with the Department of Financial Services)
• § 218.39, Fla. Stat. (county financial audits; submission to the Auditor General)
• § 116.03, Fla. Stat. (county fee officers' reports of fees collected)
• § 17.041(1), Fla. Stat. (Chief Financial Officer's duty to settle county accounts and claims)
• § 218.36, Fla. Stat. (county officers' financial reporting)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.myfloridalegal.com/ag-opinions/audit-of-hillsborough-co-superv-of-elections
• Original PDF: https://www.myfloridalegal.com/print/pdf/node/8223

Original opinion text

Ms. Renee Francis Lee

Hillsborough County Attorney

601 East Kennedy Boulevard

27th Floor

Tampa, Florida 33602-4910

Dear Ms. Lee:

Thank you for forwarding a copy of the Ernst & Young Audit of the Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections for the year ending on September 30, 2008, to this office.

You state that the report has been forwarded for review by the Attorney General's Office and any action this office deems appropriate. This office, however, has no specific authority over the actions taken by the supervisor of elections. I would generally note, however, that pursuant to Part III, Chapter 218, Florida Statutes, the "Uniform Local Government Financial Management and Reporting Act," local governmental entities are required to file annual financial reports with the Department of Financial Services. Section 218.32(1)(a), (d) and (e), Florida Statutes, respectively provide:

"(1)(a) Each local governmental entity that is determined to be a reporting entity, as defined by generally accepted accounting principles, and each independent special district as defined in s. 189.403, shall submit to the department a copy of its annual financial report for the previous fiscal year in a format prescribed by the department. . . .

(d) Each local governmental entity that is required to provide for an audit in accordance with s. 218.39(1) must submit the annual financial report with the audit report. A copy of the audit report and annual financial report must be submitted to the department within 45 days after the completion of the audit report but no later than 12 months after the end of the fiscal year.

(e) Each local governmental entity that is not required to provide for an audit report in accordance with s. 218.39 must submit the annual financial report to the department no later than April 30 of each year. . . ."[1]

County fee officers are required by section 116.03, Florida Statutes, to make a report to the Department of Financial Services of all such fees, commissions, or other remuneration collected, including the source, character, and amount of all his or her official expenses and the net amount that the office has paid up to the time of making such report, although section 218.36, Florida Statutes, exempts the officer from making such report if the officer has complied with the requirements of that statute.[2]

In addition, I note that section 17.041(1), Florida Statutes, provides that it is the duty of the Chief Financial Officer to adjust and settle, or cause to be adjusted and settled, all county accounts and claims reported to it by "the Auditor General, the appropriate county or district official, or any person against all county and district officers and employees, and against all other persons entrusted with, or who may have received, any property, funds, or moneys of a county or district or who may be in anywise indebted to or accountable to a county or district for any property, funds, moneys, or other thing of value . . . ."[3]

You may, therefore, wish to contact that office on this matter. Finally, I would note that county financial audit reports conducted pursuant to section 218.39, Florida Statutes, and the officer's written statement of explanation or rebuttal are to be submitted to the Auditor General within 45 days after delivery of the audit report to the entity's governing body, but no later than 12 months after the end of the fiscal year.[4]

Thank you for contacting the Attorney General's Office.

Sincerely,

Joslyn Wilson

Assistant Attorney General

JW/tsh

[1] See s. 218.31(4), Fla. Stat., defining "[d]epartment" as the Department of Financial Services.

[2] See s. 218.36(4), Fla. Stat.

[3] But see s. 17.041(7), Fla. Stat., providing:

"Nothing in this section shall supersede the continuing duty of the proper county and district officers to require any officer, employee, or person to render full accounts of and to yield up according to law to the officer or authority entitled by law to receive the same, any property, funds, moneys, or other thing of value as to which such officer, employee, or person is in anywise indebted to or accountable to such county or district. The provisions of this section provide for collections and recoveries which the proper county or district officers have failed to make, and for correction of settlements made in an amount or manner other than as authorized by law."

[4] Section 218.39(8), Fla. Stat. And see s. 11.45, Fla. Stat., setting forth the circumstances under which the Auditor General will audit a county agency.