The state Senate has passed the state Auditor’s budget bill.
In it is a transfer of seven external auditing positions from the University System to the Auditor’s office. It’s something the House added to the budget bill.
"The purpose of this particular amendment was to provide that the people who we are paying, who are to look at the agency externally to find out, are they following the laws, or is there some hanky-panky going on, that those people should not have to report to the people who ostensibly could be the hanky-pankers," said Sen. Ray Holmberg (R-Grand Forks), who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Holmberg says the higher education budget bill will have a pool of money for the University system office, to provide for internal auditing functions on the campuses.
The bill passed 45 to 2. It now goes to the Governor.