BILL REQ. #:  H-1346.2 

Read first time 02/08/2005.   Referred to Committee on Commerce & Labor.

     AN ACT Relating to industrial insurance fund audits; amending RCW 43.09.310; and adding a new section to chapter 51.44 RCW.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   A new section is added to chapter 51.44 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The department of labor and industries shall prepare financial statements on the state fund in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, including but not limited to the accident fund, the medical aid fund, the pension reserve fund, the supplemental pension fund and the second injury fund. Statements shall be presented desegregated and in aggregate.
     (2) Beginning in 2006, and, to avoid duplication, coordinated with any audit that may be conducted under RCW 43.09.310, the state auditor shall conduct annual audits of the state fund. As part of the audits required under this section, the auditor may contract with firms qualified to perform all or part of the financial audit, as necessary.
     (a) The firm or firms conducting the reviews shall be familiar with the accounting standards applicable to the accounts under review and shall have experience in workers' compensation reserving, discounting, and rate making.
     (b) The scope of the financial audit shall include, but is not limited to:
     (i) An opinion on whether the financial statements were prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles; and
     (ii) An assessment of the financial impact of the proposed rate level on the actuarial solvency of the accident, medical aid, and pension reserve funds, taking into consideration the risks inherent with insurance and the effects of the actuarial assumptions, discount rates, reserving, retrospective rating program, refunds, and individual employer rate classes, as well as the standard accounting principles used for insurance underwriting purposes.
     (c) The department of labor and industries shall cooperate with the auditor in all respects and shall permit the auditor full access to all information deemed necessary for a true and complete review.
     (d) The cost of the audit shall be paid by the state fund under separate contract.
     (3) The auditor shall issue an annual report to the governor, the leaders of the majority and minority caucuses in the senate and the house of representatives, the director of the office of financial management, and the director of the department of labor and industries on the results of the financial audit and reviews, within six months of the end of the fiscal year. The report may include recommendations.
     (4) The audit report shall be available for public inspection.
     (5) Within ninety days after the auditor completes and delivers to the appropriate authority an audit under subsection (2) of this section, the director of the department of labor and industries shall notify the auditor in writing of the measures taken and proposed to be taken, if any, to respond to the recommendations of the audit report. The auditor may extend the ninety-day period for good cause.

Sec. 2   RCW 43.09.310 and 1996 c 288 s 35 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, the state auditor shall annually audit the statewide combined financial statements prepared by the office of financial management and make post-audits of state agencies. Post-audits of state agencies shall be made at such periodic intervals as is determined by the state auditor. Audits of combined financial statements shall include determinations as to the validity and accuracy of accounting methods, procedures and standards utilized in their preparation, as well as the accuracy of the financial statements themselves. A report shall be made of each such audit and post-audit upon completion thereof, and one copy shall be transmitted to the governor, one to the director of financial management, one to the state agency audited, one to the joint legislative audit and review committee, one each to the standing committees on ways and means of the house and senate, one to the chief clerk of the house, one to the secretary of the senate, and at least one shall be kept on file in the office of the state auditor. A copy of any report containing findings of noncompliance with state law shall be transmitted to the attorney general.
     (2) Audits of the department of labor and industries must be coordinated with the audits required under section 1 of this act to avoid duplication of audits.