Alabama State Auditor

	Alabama State Auditor
	; ;
	General information
Office Type:	Partisan
Office website:	Official Link
2013 FY Budget:	$928,492
Term limits:	2 terms
	Structure
Length of term:	4 years
Authority:	Constitution of Alabama, Article V, Section 112
Selection Method:	Elected
	Current Officeholder
	; ;
Name:	Samantha Shaw
Officeholder Party:	Republican
Assumed office:	January 15, 2007
Compensation:	$85,248
	Elections
Next election:	November 4, 2014 (Term-limited)
Last election:	November 2, 2010
	Other Alabama Executive Offices
	Governor • Lieutenant Governor • Secretary of State • Attorney General • Treasurer • Auditor • Superintendent of Education • Agriculture Commissioner • Insurance Commissioner • Natural Resources Commissioner • Labor Commissioner • Public Service Commission

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The Alabama State Auditor is a state executive position in the Alabama government. The auditor is responsible for making a report to the governor of "receipts and disbursement of every character, all claims audited and paid out, and all taxed and revenues collected."^[1] His office also tracks all state non-consumable property worth $500 or more and serves on a number of state finance committees.

Current officeholder

The current state auditor is Samantha Shaw, a Republican. Shaw was first elected in 2006 and took office on January 15, 2007.^[2] She was re-elected in 2010 over Democrat Miranda Joseph^[3]. Shaw is ineligible for re-election in 2014 due to constitutional term limits.

Before becoming state auditor, Shaw worked as a corporate accountant for Alabama Steel Supply, La-Z Boy Furniture Gallery and Shaw Oil Company.^[4] She was also campaign manager for her husband, Greg Shaw, in his successful 2000 and 2006 campaigns for Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals Judge.

Authority

The state auditor's authority derives from Article V, Section 112 of the Alabama Constitution.

Constitution of Alabama, Article V, Section 112

The executive department shall consist of a governor, lieutenant governor, attorney-general, state auditor, secretary of state, state treasurer, superintendent of education, commissioner of agriculture and industries, and a sheriff for each county.

Qualifications

Qualifications for the office of state auditor are described in Article V, Section 132 of the state constitution. Candidates for the office must have been a citizen of the United States for seven years, a resident of Alabama for five years, and at least 25 years of age.

Constitution of Alabama, Article V, Section 132

No person shall be eligible to the office of attorney-general, state auditor, secretary of state, state treasurer, superintendent of education, or commissioner of agriculture and industries unless he shall have been a citizen of the United States at least seven years, and shall have resided in this state at least five years next preceding his election, and shall be at least twenty-five years old when elected.

Elections

Per Section 114 of the state constitution, Alabama elects its auditors during federal midterm election years (e.g. 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2018). Section 116 sets the auditor's inauguration for the first Monday after the second Tuesday in the January following an election. Thus, January 17, 2011 and January 19, 2015 are inaugural days.

Constitution of Alabama, Article V, Section 114

The governor, lieutenant governor, attorney-general, state auditor, secretary of state, state treasurer, superintendent of education, and commissioner of agriculture and industries shall be elected by the qualified electors of the state at the same time and places appointed for the election of members of the legislature in the year nineteen hundred and two, and in every fourth year thereafter.

Constitution of Alabama, Article V, Section 116

The governor, lieutenant governor, attorney-general, state auditor, secretary of state, state treasurer, superintendent of education, commissioner of agriculture and industries, elected after the ratification of this Constitution, shall hold their respective offices for the term of four years from the first Monday after the second Tuesday in January next succeeding their election, and until their successors shall be elected and qualified.

Term limits

Per Amendment 282 to Article V, Section 116 of the Alabama Constitution, auditors are limited to two terms in office.^[5]

Vacancies

Article V, Section 136 of the Alabama Constitution requires the governor to appoint a replacement if the office of state auditor becomes vacant or if the incumbent "shall become of unsound mind." The replacement serves until the next scheduled election.^[6]

Constitution of Alabama, Article V, Section 136'

Should the office of attorney-general, state auditor, secretary of state, state treasurer, superintendent of education, or commissioner of agriculture and industries become vacant from any cause, the governor shall fill such vacancy until the disability is removed or a successor elected and qualified. In case any of said officers shall become of unsound mind, such unsoundness shall be ascertained by the supreme court upon the suggestion of the governor.

Duties

The Alabama Constitution requires the state auditor to make a report to the governor every year "showing the receipts and disbursements of every character, all claims audited and paid out, by items, and all taxes and revenues collected and paid into the treasury, and the sources thereof."^[7] Additionally, the auditor performs "post audits of the accounts and records of the Treasurer and ... of the Department of Finance."^[1]

The auditor also serves as a member on the following state boards^[1]:

State Board of Adjustment
State Board of Appointments for Board of Registrars
State Board of Compromise
Alabama Education Authority
Penny Trust Fund

In addition, the auditor's office is responsible for tracking all non-consumable state property worth $500 or more and performs an audit of those items every two years.^[1]

Divisions

The state auditor's office includes an Administrative Division and the Property Division.

State budget

The budget for the State Auditor's Office in Fiscal Year 2012-2013 was $928,492.^[8]

Compensation

See also: Compensation of state executive officers

In 2012, the Alabama state auditor was paid an estimated $85,248. This figure comes from the Council of State Governments.

The auditor's salary is fixed by law. Alabama Constitution, Article V, Section 118 of the state constitution requires that changes in compensation take effect in the term after they were passed.

Alabama Constitution, Article V, Section 118

The governor, lieutenant governor, attorney-general, state auditor, secretary of state, state treasurer, superintendent of education, and commissioner of agriculture and industries, shall receive compensation to be fixed by law, which shall not be increased or diminished during the term for which they shall have been elected, and shall, except the lieutenant governor, reside at the state capital during the time they continue in office, except during epidemics.

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