Office of the State Inspector General (147)

Authority:  Title 2.2, Chapter 3.2, Code of Virginia.

A. Out of this appropriation shall be paid the annual salary of the State Inspector General, which shall be within the range of $127,846 and $170,352 from July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2014. 

B. The Office of the State Inspector General shall be responsible for investigating the management and operations of state agencies and nonstate agencies to determine whether acts of fraud, waste, abuse, or corruption have been committed or are being committed by state officers or employees or any officers or employees of a nonstate agency, including any allegations of criminal acts affecting the operations of state agencies or nonstate agencies.  However, no investigation of an elected official of the Commonwealth to determine whether a criminal violation has occurred, is occurring, or is about to occur under the provisions of § 52-8.1 shall be initiated, undertaken, or continued except upon the request of the Governor, the Attorney General, or a grand jury.

C. The Office of the State Inspector General shall be responsible for coordinating and recommending standards for those internal audit programs in existence as of July 1, 2012, and developing and maintaining other internal audit programs in state agencies and nonstate agencies as needed in order to ensure that the Commonwealth's assets are subject to appropriate internal management controls. The State Inspector General shall assess the condition of the accounting, financial, and administrative controls of state agencies and nonstate agencies.

D. The Office of the State Inspector General shall be responsible for providing timely notification to the appropriate attorney for the Commonwealth and law-enforcement agencies whenever the State Inspector General has reasonable grounds to believe there has been a violation of state criminal law.

E. The Office of the State Inspector General shall be responsible for assisting citizens in understanding their rights and the processes available to them to express concerns regarding the activities of a state agency or nonstate agency or any officer or employee of the foregoing;

F.1. The Office of the State Inspector General shall be responsible for development, coordination and management of a program to train internal auditors.  The Office of the State Inspector General shall assist internal auditors of state agencies and institutions in receiving continued professional education as required by professional standards. The Office of the State Inspector General shall coordinate its efforts with state institutions of higher education and offer training programs to the internal auditors as well as coordinate any special training programs for the internal auditors. 

2. To fund the direct costs of hiring training instructors, the Office of the State Inspector General is authorized to collect fees from training participants to provide training events for internal auditors.  A nongeneral fund appropriation of $125,000 the second year is provided for use by the Office of the State Inspector General to facilitate the collection of payments from training participants for this purpose

G. The State Inspector General shall review the organization structure, staffing levels, and missions of the Office of the State Inspector General, including the required numbers of auditors and investigators, the required numbers of support staff, and the appropriate division of responsibilities between the Department of Corrections and the Office of the State Inspector General for criminal investigations, internal operational reviews, and other studies and activities that are essential to the ongoing security of the Department of Corrections, and shall make recommendations as appropriate for the assignment of investigative staff resources in order to achieve the highest and best utilization of existing personnel resources.  The State Inspector General shall provide copies of this report to the Governor and the Chairmen of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees by September 1, 2013.