(a) (1) In this subsection, “unit” includes each State department, agency, unit, and program, including each clerk of court and each register of wills.
(2) (i) The Office of Legislative Audits shall conduct a fiscal/compliance audit of each unit of the State government, except for units in the Legislative Branch.
(ii) The audit of each unit shall be conducted at an interval ranging from 3 to 4 years unless the Legislative Auditor determines, on a case–by–case basis, that more frequent audits are required.
(iii) In determining the audit interval for a unit, the Office of Legislative Audits shall take into consideration:
1. the materiality and risk of the unit’s fiscal activities with respect to the State’s fiscal activities;
2. the complexity of the unit’s fiscal structure; and
3. the nature and extent of audit findings in the unit’s prior audit reports.
(iv) Each agency or program may be audited separately or as part of a larger organizational unit of State government.
(3) Performance audits or financial statement audits shall be conducted when authorized by the Legislative Auditor, when directed by the Joint Audit and Evaluation Committee or the Executive Director, or when otherwise required by law.
(4) (i) In addition to the audits required under paragraph (2) of this subsection, the Office of Legislative Audits may conduct a review when the objectives of the work to be performed can be satisfactorily fulfilled without conducting an audit as prescribed in § 2–1221 of this subtitle.
(ii) 1. The Office of Legislative Audits has the authority to conduct a separate investigation of an act or allegation of fraud, waste, or abuse in the obligation, expenditure, receipt, or use of State resources.
2. The Legislative Auditor shall determine whether an investigation shall be conducted in conjunction with an audit undertaken in accordance with this subsection or separately.
(5) If, on request of the Comptroller, the Joint Audit and Evaluation Committee so directs, the Office of Legislative Audits shall audit or review a claim that has been presented to the Comptroller for payment of an expenditure or disbursement and that is alleged to have been made by or for an officer or unit of the State government.
(6) The Office of Legislative Audits shall conduct an audit or review to determine the accuracy of information about or procedures of a unit of the State government, as directed by the Joint Audit and Evaluation Committee or the Executive Director.
(b) If the General Assembly, by resolution, or the Joint Audit and Evaluation Committee so directs, the Office of Legislative Audits shall conduct an audit or review of a corporation or association to which the General Assembly has appropriated money or that has received funds from an appropriation from the State Treasury.
(c) The Office of Legislative Audits may audit any county officer or unit that collects State taxes.
(d) (1) The Office of Legislative Audits shall review any audit report prepared under the authority of:
(i) §§ 16–305 through 16–308 of the Local Government Article, with respect to a county, municipal corporation, or taxing district; or
(ii) § 16–315 of the Education Article, with respect to a community college.
(2) The results of any review made by the Office of Legislative Audits under paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be reported as provided in § 2–1224 of this subtitle.
(e) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (4) of this subsection, at least once every 6 years, the Office of Legislative Audits shall conduct an audit of each local school system to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of the financial management practices of the local school system.
(2) The audits may be performed concurrently or separately.
(3) The Office of Legislative Audits shall provide information regarding the audit process to the local school system before the audit is conducted.
(4) (i) Subject to the limitation under subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph, beginning in fiscal year 2017, a local school system shall be exempt from the audit requirement under paragraph (1) of this subsection if the county governing body, the county board of education, and the county delegation to the Maryland General Assembly consisting of the county senators and delegates each submits a letter to the Joint Audit and Evaluation Committee requesting an exemption on or before November 1 of fiscal year 2017, or on or before November 1 of the last year of a 6–year audit cycle under paragraph (1) of this subsection, as determined by the Office of Legislative Audits.
(ii) A local school system may not be exempt for two consecutive 6–year audit cycles.
(5) (i) On or before November 1 of the third year of a 6–year audit cycle under paragraph (1) of this subsection, each local school system shall submit a report to the Joint Audit and Evaluation Committee on the status of implementation of corrective actions to address repeat findings and recommendations identified by the Office of Legislative Audits in the most recent audit conducted under paragraph (1) of this subsection.
(ii) Each local school system shall publish the report required under this paragraph on its website.
(iii) Before publishing the report in accordance with subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph, any cybersecurity findings shall be redacted in a manner consistent with auditing best practices.
(6) Notwithstanding paragraph (4) of this subsection, the Joint Audit and Evaluation Committee may direct the Office of Legislative Audits to conduct an audit of a local school system at any time.
(f) (1) At least once every 6 years, the Office of Legislative Audits shall conduct a performance audit of the Board of Liquor License Commissioners for Baltimore City to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of the management practices of the Board and of the economy with which the Board uses resources.
(2) At any time on request of the President and the Speaker, the Office shall conduct a performance audit of the local licensing board, as defined in § 1–101 of the Alcoholic Beverages and Cannabis Article, for a county or for the City of Annapolis to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of the management practices of the board and of the economy with which the board uses resources.
(3) The performance audit shall focus on operations relating to liquor inspections, licensing, disciplinary procedures, and management oversight.
(g) (1) At least once every 6 years, the Office of Legislative Audits shall conduct a performance audit of the Board of License Commissioners for Prince George’s County to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of the management practices of the Board and of the economy with which the Board uses resources.
(2) The performance audit shall focus on operations relating to liquor inspections, licensing, disciplinary procedures, and management oversight.
(h) (1) Beginning July 1, 2020, and at least once every 6 years thereafter, the Office of Legislative Audits shall conduct an audit or audits of the Baltimore Police Department to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of the financial management practices of the Baltimore Police Department.
(2) The scope and objectives of the audit or audits shall be determined by the Legislative Auditor.
(3) The Office of Legislative Audits shall provide information regarding the audit process to the Baltimore Police Department before the audit is conducted.
(4) The Baltimore City government shall make available to the Office of Legislative Audits all City employees, records, and information systems deemed necessary by the Legislative Auditor to conduct the audit or audits required by this subsection.