STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman ROBERT AUTH
District 39 (Bergen)
Assemblyman ERIK PETERSON
District 23 (Hunterdon, Somerset and Warren)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblymen Myhre, S.Kean and Assemblywoman Fantasia
SYNOPSIS
Requires Division of Local Government Services to perform audits of certain shared services agreements and authorities.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning the Division of Local Government Services auditing of shared services agreements and authorities and supplementing chapter 27D of Title 52 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. The Division of Local Government Services in the Department of Community Affairs shall perform an audit, in a form and manner to be determined by the division, and for this purpose shall employ a certified public accountant licensed pursuant to the laws of the State, of each shared services agreement entered into by a governing body pursuant to the "Uniform Shared Services and Consolidation Act," sections 1 through 35 of P.L.2007, c.63 (C.40A:65-1 through C.40A:65-35), and each authority established pursuant to the "Municipal Shared Services Energy Authority Act," P.L.2015, c.129 (C.40A:66-1 et seq.), and the "Regional Rehabilitation and Reentry Center Authority Act," P.L.2023, c.346 (C.40A:67-1 et seq.), which the division shall submit to the Local Finance Board for review. The division shall perform each audit according to the following schedule:
(1) for shared services agreements or authorities with expenditures in excess of $10 million annually, the audit shall be performed at least once annually;
(2) for shared services agreements or authorities with expenditures in excess of $2 million but less than $10 million annually, the audit shall be performed at least once every two years; and
(3) for shared services agreements or authorities with expenditures less than $2 million annually, the audit shall be performed at least once every 30 months.
b. The division shall make the results of each audit performed pursuant to this section available to the public on the division’s Internet website.
2. The Director of the Division of Local Government Services is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislatures as this bill).
3. This act shall take
effect on the first day of the third month following the date of enactment
except that the Director of the Division of Local Government Services may take
any anticipatory administrative action in advance as shall be necessary for the
implementation of this act.
STATEMENT
This bill requires the Division of Local Government Services in the Department of Community Affairs (division) to perform certain audits, in a form and manner to be determined by the division, and for this purpose is to employ a certified public accountant licensed pursuant to the laws of the State, of each shared services agreement entered into by a governing body pursuant to the "Uniform Shared Services and Consolidation Act," sections 1 through 35 of P.L.2007, c.63 (C.40A:65-1 through C.40A:65-35), and each authority established pursuant to the "Municipal Shared Services Energy Authority Act," P.L.2015, c.129 (C.40A:66-1 et seq.), and the "Regional Rehabilitation and Reentry Center Authority Act," P.L.2023, c.346 (C.40A:67-1 et seq.), which the division is to submit to the Local Finance Board for review. The division is to perform each audit according to the schedule provided in the bill.
The division is to make the results of each audit available to the public on the division’s Internet website. The director of the division is authorized to make rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of the bill. The bill also provides that the bill is to take effect on the first day of the third month following the date of enactment except that the division may take any anticipatory administrative action in advance as is be necessary for the implementation of the bill.