Minnesota State Auditor

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State Auditor of Minnesota
Seal of the State Auditor of Minnesota.png
Minnesota State Auditor Julie Blaha is sworn in at the Fitzgerald Theater, St Paul MN (cropped).jpg
Incumbent
Julie Blaha
since January 7, 2019
Style
  • Mr. or Madam Auditor
    (informal)
  • The Honorable
    (formal)
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
(163 years ago) (May 11, 1858)
Salary$108,485[1]
WebsiteOfficial page

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.

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 charged with supervising and auditing over $40 billion spent annually by Minnesota's 3,600-plus local governments, including counties, cities, towns, school districts, soil and water conservation districts, watershed districts, tax increment finance districts, housing and redevelopment authorities, and local pension funds, among others.[5] The State Auditor carries out this role 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 accounts, budgeting, and financial reporting applicable to all local governments and trains local government officials and employees on matters of public administration and public finance.[6] 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.[7]

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.[8][9][10][11][12][13][14] These boards steward public pensions, direct the management and disposition of public lands, coordinate emergency management, manage public records across government, provide financing for housing and rural economic development, and prudently invest all state funds - including Minnesota's Permanent School Fund, College Savings Plan Account, ABLE Plan Account, Legacy Funds, and 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.[15][16]

Politics of Minnesota
Minnesota-StateSeal.svg
Constitution
Executive
Legislature
Judiciary
Elections
Subdivisions
Federal representation
  • v
  • t

Territorial Auditors[]

Name Took Office Left Office Party
Jonathan E. McKusick 1849 1852 Whig
Abraham Van Vorhes 1852 1853 Whig
Socrates Nelson 1853 1854 Democratic
Julius Georgii 1854 1858 Democratic

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. Name Term of Office Party
1 William F. Dunbar 1858–1861 Democratic
2 Charles McIlrath 1861–1873 Republican
3 Orlan P. Whitcomb 1873–1882 Republican
4 William W. Braden 1882–1891 Republican
5 Adolph Biermann 1891–1895 Democratic
6 Robert C. Dunn 1895–1903 Republican
7 Samuel G. Iverson 1903–1915 Republican
8 J. A. O. Preus 1915–1921 Republican
9 Ray P. Chase 1921–1931 Republican
10 Stafford King 1931–1969 Republican
11 William J. O'Brien 1969–1971 Republican
12 Rolland F. Hatfield 1971–1975 Republican
13 Robert W. Mattson, Jr. 1975–1979 Democratic-Farmer-Labor
14 Arne Carlson 1979–1991 Independent-Republican
15 Mark Dayton 1991–1995 Democratic-Farmer-Labor
16 Judi Dutcher 1995–2000 Republican
Judi Dutcher 2000-2003 Democratic-Farmer-Labor
17 Patricia Anderson (formerly Awada) 2003–2007 Republican
18 Rebecca Otto 2007–2019 Democratic-Farmer-Labor
19 Julie Blaha 2019-present Democratic-Farmer-Labor

Notes on Minnesota political party names[]

  • Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party: On April 15, 1944 the state Democratic Party and the Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party merged and created the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL). It is affiliated with the national Democratic Party.
  • Republican Party of Minnesota: From November 15, 1975 to September 23, 1995 the name of the state Republican party was the Independent-Republican party (I-R). The party has always been affiliated with the national Republican Party.

External links[]

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. ^ Chapter 6., Minnesota Statutes
  6. ^ Budget Summary for the Office of the State Auditor
  7. ^ "What We Do" | Minnesota Office of the State Auditor
  8. ^ Public Employees Retirement Association, State of Minnesota
  9. ^ Minnesota Executive Council
  10. ^ Minnesota Housing Finance Agency Board
  11. ^ Land Exchange Board, State of Minnesota
  12. ^ Minnesota Records Disposition Panel
  13. ^ Minnesota Rural Finance Authority Board
  14. ^ Minnesota State Board of Investment
  15. ^ "OSA History" | Minnesota Office of the State Auditor
  16. ^ "History of the OLA" | Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor
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