Authority: Title 2.2, Chapter 3.2, Code of Virginia.
A. Out of this appropriation shall be paid the annual salary of the State Inspector General $153,000 from July 1, 2014 to June 30, 2015 and $153,000 from July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016.
B. The Office of the State Inspector General shall be responsible for investigating the management and operations of state agencies and nonstate agencies to determine whether acts of fraud, waste, abuse, or corruption have been committed or are being committed by state officers or employees or any officers or employees of a nonstate agency, including any allegations of criminal acts affecting the operations of state agencies or nonstate agencies. However, no investigation of an elected official of the Commonwealth to determine whether a criminal violation has occurred, is occurring, or is about to occur under the provisions of § 52-8.1 shall be initiated, undertaken, or continued except upon the request of the Governor, the Attorney General, or a grand jury.
C. The Office of the State Inspector General shall be responsible for coordinating and recommending standards for those internal audit programs in existence as of July 1, 2012, and developing and maintaining other internal audit programs in state agencies and nonstate agencies as needed in order to ensure that the Commonwealth's assets are subject to appropriate internal management controls. The State Inspector General shall assess the condition of the accounting, financial, and administrative controls of state agencies and nonstate agencies.
D. The Office of the State Inspector General shall be responsible for providing timely notification to the appropriate attorney for the Commonwealth and law-enforcement agencies whenever the State Inspector General has reasonable grounds to believe there has been a violation of state criminal law.
E. The Office of the State Inspector General shall be responsible for assisting citizens in understanding their rights and the processes available to them to express concerns regarding the activities of a state agency or nonstate agency or any officer or employee of the foregoing;
F.1. The Office of the State Inspector General shall be responsible for development, coordination and management of a program to train internal auditors. The Office of the State Inspector General shall assist internal auditors of state agencies and institutions in receiving continued professional education as required by professional standards. The Office of the State Inspector General shall coordinate its efforts with state institutions of higher education and offer training programs to the internal auditors as well as coordinate any special training programs for the internal auditors.
2. To fund the direct costs of hiring training instructors, the Office of the State Inspector General is authorized to collect fees from training participants to provide training events for internal auditors. A nongeneral fund appropriation of $125,000 the first year and $125,000 the second year is provided for use by the Office of the State Inspector General to facilitate the collection of payments from training participants for this purpose.
G. The Office of the State Inspector General shall review the agribusiness program within the Department of Corrections. The review shall include a determination of the costs and benefits to the Commonwealth of utilizing inmate labor to operate the correctional farm system, the value of cooperative agreements with Virginia's institutions of higher education to improve the productivity of the system, and a determination of the actual cost of food per inmate per day within Virginia's correctional institutions. To the extent feasible, the review shall consider the experience of other states. The review shall further consider potential efficiencies, cost savings, and productivity improvements within the agribusiness program. Copies of this review shall be submitted to the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security and to the Chairmen of the Senate Finance and House Appropriations Committees by October 1, 2015.