HB 244: State auditor; local governments to request and receive in certain circumstances due date extensions related to filing annual audits; provide

Georgia law requires local governments above certain size to file annual financial audits with the state auditor, but the trigger for that requirement was based on a population count and an expenditure figure of $550,000 that had not been updated in years. HB244 replaces that with a single expenditure threshold of $2.5 million. Governments spending less than that may use a simpler 'special purpose framework' audit designed by the state auditor, and the smallest governments (spending $1 million or less) may substitute a lighter 'agreed upon procedures' report for up to four years in a row before a full audit is required in the fifth year. The bill also addresses what happens when county officers, such as those named in the Georgia Constitution, fail to cooperate with audit preparation. It requires these officers and other public employees to assist with financial statements, allows the state auditor to grant short extensions when their noncooperation causes a delay, and lets a county temporarily withhold half the pay of an uncooperative officer until the required audit is finally filed, with full repayment once it is filed.

• Raises the expenditure threshold that requires a full annual audit from $550,000 to $2.5 million and removes the old population-based trigger.
• Lets local governments spending $2.5 million or less use a simpler 'special purpose framework' audit format designed by the state auditor instead of a full annual audit.
• Allows governments spending $1 million or less to file a lighter agreed upon procedures report for up to four straight years, but requires a full audit at least once every five years.
• Lets the state auditor grant an extension when unusual circumstances caused a government's spending to exceed its normal threshold in a given year.
• Requires county officers and government employees to cooperate with audit preparation and lets the state auditor grant short waivers when their noncooperation causes late filings.
• Authorizes counties to withhold 50 percent of a noncooperative officer's pay until the audit is filed, repaying it within 14 days of filing without interest.

Georgia's cities, counties, and consolidated city-county governments that must file annual financial audits; county officers named in the state constitution such as sheriffs, tax commissioners, and clerks of court; local government employees involved in preparing financial records; the state auditor's office; and the Department of Community Affairs, which assists smaller governments with audit paperwork.

Many small Georgia local governments would shift from full audits to simpler, cheaper reporting formats, while some previously exempt governments could now fall under the $2.5 million audit trigger. County officers who stall audit preparation could see half their pay withheld until the audit is filed, creating a direct financial consequence for noncooperation that did not exist before.

• Amends O.C.G.A. § 36-81-7(a)(1) to require full annual audits only for local governments with expenditures of $2.5 million or more, dropping the old population and $550,000 spending tests.
• Section 36-81-7(a)(2) lets governments below that threshold use a state auditor-designed special purpose framework instead of the prior every-other-year audit requirement.
• Section 36-81-7(a)(3) caps use of agreed upon procedures reports at four consecutive years for governments spending $1 million or less, then requires a full audit in the fifth year.
• New paragraph (a)(5) lets the state auditor grant filing exceptions when unusual circumstances push a government's spending above its normal threshold.
• New subsection (d.1) requires public officers and employees to cooperate with county audit preparation and allows 90 day filing waivers tied to their noncooperation.
• Subsection (d.1)(3) allows a county to withhold 50 percent of an uncooperative county officer's compensation until the audit is filed, repaid within 14 days without interest.

1. 2026-05-11Effective Date 2026-07-01
2. 2026-05-11Act 437
3. 2026-05-11House Date Signed by Governor (House)
4. 2026-04-06House Sent to Governor (House)
5. 2026-03-16House Agreed Senate Amend or Sub (House)
6. 2026-03-10Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Senate)
7. 2026-03-10Senate Third Read (Senate)
8. 2026-02-02Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate)

• Charles Cannon (R, HD-172)Primary sponsor
• Bill Yearta (R, HD-152)
• Gerald Greene (R, HD-154)
• Mack Jackson (D, HD-128)
• Leesa Hagan (R, HD-156)
• Sam Watson (R, SD-011)

1. PassedHouse voteMarch 4, 2025

   162 yea, 7 nay (8 not voting, 3 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #150

2. PassedSenate voteMarch 10, 2026

   48 yea, 2 nay (2 not voting, 3 absent)

   Passage By Substitute: Senate Vote #702

3. PassedHouse voteMarch 16, 2026

   151 yea, 4 nay (5 not voting, 16 absent)

   Agree To Senate Substitute: House Vote #706

• local government audits
• county government finances
• state auditor
• government transparency
• public officials accountability