Minnesota State Auditor

The State Auditor of Minnesota is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of the U.S. state of Minnesota. Nineteen individuals have held the office of State Auditor since statehood. The incumbent is Julie Blaha, a DFLer.

State Auditor of Minnesota
Incumbent
Julie Blaha
since January 7, 2019
Style
Member ofExecutive Council, among others
SeatMinnesota State Capitol
Saint Paul, Minnesota
AppointerGeneral election
Term lengthFour years, no term limits
Constituting instrumentMinnesota Constitution of 1858, Article V
Inaugural holderWilliam F. Dunbar
FormationMay 11, 1858 (May 11, 1858)
Salary$108,485[1]
WebsiteOfficial page

Election and term of office

The State Auditor is elected by the people on Election Day in November, and takes office on the first Monday of the next January. There is no limit to the number of terms a State Auditor may hold. To be elected State Auditor, a person must be qualified voter, permanently resident in the state of Minnesota at least 30 days prior to the election, and at least 21 years of age.[2]

In the event of a vacancy in the office of the State Auditor, the Governor may appoint a successor to serve the balance of the term.[3] The State Auditor may also be recalled by the voters or removed from office through an impeachment trial.[4]

Powers and duties

In Minnesota, the State Auditor is for all intents and purposes the "auditor of public accounts", in the sense that his or her authority transcends governmental jurisdictions. As such, the State Auditor is charged with supervising and auditing the finances of the state's approximately 4,800 local governments - be they counties, cities, towns, school districts, local pension funds, housing and redevelopment authorities, economic development agencies, tax increment finance districts, or myriad special purpose districts - which altogether spend over $40 billion annually.[5][6] The State Auditor carries out this fiduciary duty by examining local government financial statements, evaluating compliance over financial management with internal controls and regulatory guidelines, conducting best practices reviews of locally-delivered public services, reviewing documents, data, and reports filed with the Office of the State Auditor, and investigating complaints of waste, fraud, or mismanagement of public funds and resources. In addition, the State Auditor prescribes uniform systems of accounting, budgeting, and financial reporting applicable to all local governments and trains local government officials and employees on matters of public administration and good financial management.[7] The financial information collected by the State Auditor's office is analyzed and serves as the basis of statutory reports, which inform the budgetary and fiscal policies of the Governor and Legislature.[8]

Aside from his or her functional responsibilities, the State Auditor is an ex officio member of the Board of Trustees of the Public Employees Retirement Association, the Executive Council, the Housing Finance Agency Board, the Land Exchange Board, the Records Disposition Panel, the Rural Finance Authority Board, and the State Board of Investment.[9][10][11][12][13][14][15] These boards steward public pensions, direct the management and disposition of public lands, coordinate emergency management, regulate public records across state and local government, provide financing for housing and rural economic development, and prudently invest all state funds - including Minnesota's college and ABLE savings plans, the Permanent School Fund, and three public-sector retirement funds.

History

The State Auditor's office has its origins in the Minnesota Territory, when the territorial governor appointed an auditor to ensure that both territorial and county finances were in good order and handled properly. This function continued with an elected State Auditor upon Minnesota's entry into the Union on May 11, 1858, and lasted until a 1973 reorganization of state government. During the intervening years, the State Auditor acted as the comptroller for the whole of state government. In that capacity, the State Auditor maintained the state accounting system, audited state agency vouchers and claims against the state, approved the disbursement of public funds out of the state treasury, and monitored county finances. Following reorganization, the responsibilities of the State Auditor's office were transferred to a state agency known today as the Department of Management and Budget. The Office of the State Auditor then shifted to its present role, which was previously handled by the Public Examiner, a Cabinet official appointed by the Governor that audited local governments and state agencies alike. Following elimination of the Public Examiner's office, the elected State Auditor took on the duty of supervising and auditing local government finances. At the same time, evaluation of state agency financial management and performance was assigned to a newly created office of Legislative Auditor, which is appointed by and reports to the Legislative Audit Commission.[16][17]

Politics of Minnesota
Constitution
Executive
Legislature
Judiciary
Elections
Subdivisions
Federal representation

Territorial Auditors
NameTook OfficeLeft OfficeParty
Jonathan E. McKusick18491852Whig
Abraham Van Vorhes18521853Whig
Socrates Nelson18531854Democratic
Julius Georgii18541858Democratic

State Auditors

The State Auditor's term of office was originally three years. In 1883, voters approved a constitutional amendment changing it to four years.

No.NameTerm of OfficeParty
1William F. Dunbar1858–1861Democratic
2Charles McIlrath1861–1873Republican
3Orlan P. Whitcomb1873–1882Republican
4William W. Braden1882–1891Republican
5Adolph Biermann1891–1895Democratic
6Robert C. Dunn1895–1903Republican
7Samuel G. Iverson1903–1915Republican
8J. A. O. Preus1915–1921Republican
9Ray P. Chase1921–1931Republican
10Stafford King1931–1969Republican
11William J. O'Brien1969–1971Republican
12Rolland F. Hatfield1971–1975Republican
13Robert W. Mattson, Jr.1975–1979Democratic-Farmer-Labor
14Arne Carlson1979–1991Independent-Republican
15Mark Dayton1991–1995Democratic-Farmer-Labor
16Judi Dutcher1995–2000Republican
Judi Dutcher 2000-2003 Democratic-Farmer-Labor
17Patricia Anderson (formerly Awada)2003–2007Republican
18Rebecca Otto2007–2019Democratic-Farmer-Labor
19 Julie Blaha 2019-present Democratic-Farmer-Labor

Notes on Minnesota political party names

References
  1. State Elected Officials' Compensation (PDF) (Report). Minnesota House Research Department. 2021. p. 1. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  2. "Article VII, Sections 1, 2, and 6 of the Minnesota Constitution". Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  3. "Article V, Section 3 of the Minnesota Constitution". Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  4. "Article VIII, Sections 1, 2, and 6". Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  5. Office of the State Auditor 2020-21 Biennial Budget Request
  6. Chapter 6., 2022 Minnesota Statutes
  7. Budget Summary for the Office of the State Auditor
  8. "What We Do" | Minnesota Office of the State Auditor
  9. Public Employees Retirement Association, State of Minnesota
  10. Minnesota Executive Council
  11. Minnesota Housing Finance Agency Board
  12. Land Exchange Board, State of Minnesota
  13. Minnesota Records Disposition Panel
  14. Minnesota Rural Finance Authority Board
  15. Minnesota State Board of Investment
  16. "OSA History" | Minnesota Office of the State Auditor
  17. "History of the OLA" | Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor
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