HB1589 Summary

• Requires signatures of two authorized disbursing officers on municipal checks and allows electronic funds transfers for salary payments, federal/state payments, and other accounts with proper internal controls and Legislative Joint Auditing Committee approval.

• Expands municipal fixed asset record requirements to include governing body policy defining fixed assets by dollar amount and useful life, with categorized listings of all fixed assets.

• Modifies municipal receipt and disbursement journal requirements to allow electronic receipting systems and check registers that comply with Information Systems Best Practices Checklist, in addition to traditional prenumbered receipts and checks.

• Changes accounting record retention periods from 3 to 4 years for support documents and creates three categories of records: Support Documents (4 years), Semipermanent Records including journals and investment records (7 years), and Permanent Records including council minutes and ordinances (indefinitely).

• Changes financial statement publication from semiannual to annual, published by April 1 for the first six months of the calendar year, and reduces public posting locations from five to two places in municipalities without newspapers.