SB409 Summary

• Chief Examiner of Public Accounts may contract with private recovery auditors to identify and recover overpayments made by state agencies to individuals, vendors, and service providers.

• Recovery auditor compensation capped at 15 percent of amounts recovered; audits cannot be conducted within 90 days of payment date and are limited to three years for electric utility payments regulated by the Public Service Commission.

• State agencies must provide payment-related information to recovery auditors as needed, and recovery auditors are bound by the same confidentiality restrictions as state employees; violations subject to prosecution by Attorney General.

• Special fund established in State Treasury to receive recovered funds after contractor payments; amounts owed to federal government must be disbursed; constitutionally earmarked funds appropriated per law; remaining funds available for any lawful purpose by legislative appropriation.

• Recovery audit reports are public records available on the Department's website; audited entities may request binding arbitration under Alabama law if they dispute audit findings, with costs split proportionally based on arbitrators' ruling.