Bill > SB1427

This bill establishes a comprehensive framework for conducting mandatory efficiency audits of all Texas state agencies, including higher education institutions, every six years. The state auditor will be responsible for developing an audit schedule and contracting with external private auditors to conduct detailed evaluations of each department's use of resources, effectiveness, and operational efficiency. Each audit must examine financial resources, staff, and technology to determine whether they are being used effectively to achieve intended program goals, identify potential cost savings, and recommend opportunities for improving services through function consolidation, outsourcing, or eliminating duplicative efforts. After completing an audit, the state auditor must submit a report to legislative committee chairs and the audited department by November 1st of the audit year, and both the auditor and the department must publish the full report online. Additionally, within 90 days of receiving the audit, the department's administrative head must provide an implementation plan to legislative committees, including justifications for any recommendations they choose not to adopt. The bill specifies that agencies cannot be audited in the same year they undergo sunset review, and the new audit requirements will take effect on September 1, 2025, with the first audit schedules to be adopted by January 1, 2026.

https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=89R&Bill=SB1427