Following Supreme Court Decision, S.9 Would Grant Unprecedented Expansion of Power to State Auditor

A bill passed the Senate Government Operations Committee that would grant the State Auditor access to any of the books, records, and returns of private businesses that contract with state government as it relates to performance. This would be a significant expansion of authority for the political office. The Vermont Chamber will work to support partner organizations such as the Associated General Contractors of Vermont and Vermont Bankers Association, as well as hospitals and other healthcare organizations, to raise concerns. If this legislation passes, it could lead to lengthy and costly interferences with business operations for any of the thousands of businesses contracting with the state of Vermont and will test the willingness of contractors to work on essential contracts such as hospitals, healthcare providers, construction companies, and information technology companies. 

It remains likely that additional litigation could be expected over the interpretation of what records are related to the performance of an audit. S.9 was voted out of the committee along party lines by a vote of 5-1-0.  Given the importance of contractors, hospitals and financial institutions to the operation of the state government, this bill should be reviewed by additional committees including Senate Transportation, Senate Health and Welfare, and Senate Institutions.