FloridaLegislative office would review Florida government and public spending
If enacted, the proposal would place government audits and supported complaints about public spending within a new legislative office, with some duties starting later.
What it does
A Florida Accountability Office would review government work and report findings to lawmakers and agencies. Its units would handle different kinds of audits and investigations.
The Public Integrity Division could investigate supported complaints about misuse of public money. It could review records held by public agencies and certain publicly funded organizations.
The General Accountability Division would handle required operational and compliance audits, including audits the text says were assigned to other offices. State agencies and oversight bodies would also review audit requirements.
Argument forInvestigating supported complaints and reviewing selected public projects could help lawmakers find misuse of public money and improve how projects are run.
Argument againstInvestigators could review sensitive records and seek court enforcement of subpoenas, which may affect agencies and people whose information is examined.
More detail
The bill text describes a Florida Accountability Office within the Legislature, with units handling financial, operational, performance, and integrity work. The office would examine Florida government entities and report findings to the Legislature and public agencies. The office would be administered as directed by the Legislature or by agreement of the presiding officers of both houses. Units would cooperate as resources allow; the Legislature would approve an annual operating budget and certain staffing decisions. Unless another effective date applies, the bill text sets July 1, 2026, as the effective date.
The bill text authorizes the Public Integrity Division to investigate certain complaints and examine records related to them. The investigation authority concerns complaints about misuse connected to public funds and records of the listed public and publicly funded entities. Complaints may allege fraud, waste, abuse, mismanagement, or misconduct connected to public spending and may come only from listed officials and oversight roles, including whistleblowers. The division must find enough information to indicate a reasonable probability of wrongdoing. It may close a complaint if another agency has already begun investigating; otherwise, it investigates within available resources. The division may inspect specified public agency and publicly funded entity records. Legislative committees may issue subpoenas upon request, with court enforcement available in specified circumstances. Beginning in fiscal year 2027–2028, the Auditor General and the division would randomly select prior-year public projects for review, within available resources. They may delay a project review if its timeline warrants it.
The bill text assigns legally required operational and compliance audits to the General Accountability Division and describes reviews of audit requirements by state agencies and oversight bodies. These provisions concern legally required operational and compliance audits and audit requirements imposed by state rules or statutes. The division may help other office units and conduct other audits allowed by law after consulting those units or at the request of the Senate President or House Speaker. Each state agency would report rules requiring audits of public or private entities when those rules are not specified in statute. The Auditor General, Joint Legislative Auditing Committee, and Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability would review statutory audit requirements. The division's audit duty would begin January 1, 2027. Agencies would report by October 1, 2026, and the three oversight bodies would deliver their joint report by October 1, 2027.
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Where it stands
- Introduced
- Passed House
- Passed Senate
- To Governor
- Became Law
Looking ahead
No hearings or votes scheduled.
History
- 2026
- May 12Conference Committee appointed: Appropriations Conference Committee/Budget: Senator Hooper, Chair; Senators Berman, Boyd, Brodeur, Gruters, Passidomo, and Rouson, At Large; Appropriations Conference Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government/Agriculture & Natural Resources: Senator Brodeur, Chair; Senators Arrington, Berman, DiCeglie, Grall, Massullo, McClain, Nathan, Pizzo, Rodriguez, Sharief, and Truenow; Appropriations Conference Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government/State Administration: Senator Brodeur, Chair; Senators Arrington, Berman, DiCeglie, Grall, Massullo, McClain, Nathan, Pizzo, Rodriguez, Sharief, and Truenow; Appropriations Conference Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice/Justice: Senator Garcia, Chair; Senators Martin, Osgood, Polsky, Simon, Smith, Wright, and Yarborough; Appropriations Conference Committee on Health and Human Services/Health Care: Senator Trumbull, Chair; Senators Brodeur, Burton, Davis, Garcia, Harrell, Rodriguez, Rouson, and Sharief; Appropriations Conference Committee on Higher Education/Higher Education: Senator Harrell, Chair; Senators Bracy Davis, Bradley, Burgess, Calatayud, Davis, and Leek; Appropriations Conference Committee on Pre-K – 12 Education/Pre-K – 12: Senator Burgess, Chair; Senators Bradley, Calatayud, Gaetz, Jones, Massullo, Nathan, Osgood, Pizzo, Simon, and Yarborough; Appropriations Conference Committee on Transportation, Tourism, and Economic Development/Transportation & Economic Development: Senator DiCeglie, Chair; Senators Arrington, Avila, Bernard, Bracy Davis, Grall, Leek, Martin, Mayfield, McClain, Polsky, Smith, Truenow, and Wright.Latest
- Vote recorded Third Reading. Result: pass.Upper
- Vote recorded Passage, Third Reading. Result: pass.Lower
- May 12Bill placed in Conference (Appropriations Conference Committee/Budget)
- May 12Conference Committee appointed
- May 12Bill placed in Conference (Appropriations Conference Committee/Budget)
- May 12In Messages
- May 12The Senate having refused to pass the bill as passed by the House, acceded to the request for a conference
- May 12Passed as amended; YEAS 32 NAYS 0Passed Senate
- May 12Read 3rd timeMinor
- May 12Amendment(s) adopted (235832)
- May 12Read 2nd timeMinor
- May 12Placed on Calendar, on 2nd reading
- May 12Withdrawn from AppropriationsMajor
- May 12Referred to AppropriationsMinor
- May 12ReceivedMinor
- May 12In Messages
- May 12Requests that the Senate pass the bill as passed by the House or agree to include the bill in the Budget Conference
- May 12Passed; YEAS 96, NAYS 10Passed House
- May 12Read 3rd timeMinor
- May 12Added to Third Reading Calendar
- May 12Read 2nd timeMinor
- May 12Added to Second Reading Calendar
- May 12Read 1st time
- May 5Bill referred to House Calendar
- May 5FiledIntroduced
- May 12Conference Committee appointed: Appropriations Conference Committee/Budget: Senator Hooper, Chair; Senators Berman, Boyd, Brodeur, Gruters, Passidomo, and Rouson, At Large; Appropriations Conference Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government/Agriculture & Natural Resources: Senator Brodeur, Chair; Senators Arrington, Berman, DiCeglie, Grall, Massullo, McClain, Nathan, Pizzo, Rodriguez, Sharief, and Truenow; Appropriations Conference Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government/State Administration: Senator Brodeur, Chair; Senators Arrington, Berman, DiCeglie, Grall, Massullo, McClain, Nathan, Pizzo, Rodriguez, Sharief, and Truenow; Appropriations Conference Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice/Justice: Senator Garcia, Chair; Senators Martin, Osgood, Polsky, Simon, Smith, Wright, and Yarborough; Appropriations Conference Committee on Health and Human Services/Health Care: Senator Trumbull, Chair; Senators Brodeur, Burton, Davis, Garcia, Harrell, Rodriguez, Rouson, and Sharief; Appropriations Conference Committee on Higher Education/Higher Education: Senator Harrell, Chair; Senators Bracy Davis, Bradley, Burgess, Calatayud, Davis, and Leek; Appropriations Conference Committee on Pre-K – 12 Education/Pre-K – 12: Senator Burgess, Chair; Senators Bradley, Calatayud, Gaetz, Jones, Massullo, Nathan, Osgood, Pizzo, Simon, and Yarborough; Appropriations Conference Committee on Transportation, Tourism, and Economic Development/Transportation & Economic Development: Senator DiCeglie, Chair; Senators Arrington, Avila, Bernard, Bracy Davis, Grall, Leek, Martin, Mayfield, McClain, Polsky, Smith, Truenow, and Wright.Latest
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