(a) The Governor shall be authorized and required to appoint and commission expert accountants to examine and report to the Governor the state of the Treasurer of State's office. The Governor may order an examination at his or her discretion provided he or she orders at least one (1) each year.
(b)
(1) At least one (1) appointment of an accountant shall be made each year, and the number of accountants shall not exceed two (2).
(2) The duties of accountants shall be to examine carefully and fully the books of the Treasurer of State, to count the cash belonging to the state on hand, and to prepare a complete printed statement of their labor. Accountants shall attach to this statement the following oath subscribed and sworn to by them:
(3)
(A) When the Governor appoints and commissions the accountants, he or she shall swear them not to divulge their appointments until they shall have entered upon the active duties of their office.
(B) If the expert or accountant shall divulge, directly or indirectly, the fact that he or she has been appointed or commissioned to that office, or the time when the Governor has ordered the examination, he or she shall be deemed guilty of perjury and punished as in other cases.
(4) The Governor is authorized to pay the accountants out of the contingent fund a sum of money not exceeding two hundred dollars ($200) for each examination made.
(c) Upon the presentation of the accountant duly commissioned, the Treasurer of State shall give the accountant free access to his or her books and permit him or her to count the cash on hand.
(d) On the refusal of the Treasurer of State to comply with the provisions of this section, his or her office shall be declared vacant and the offense deemed a felony, and on conviction thereof he or she shall be sentenced to the Division of Correction for a term not exceeding five (5) years.
“I do solemnly swear that I have made a complete examination of the books belonging to the office of the Treasurer of State for one (1) year last past, and counted the cash on hand, and the foregoing statement is true and correct, and I further swear that I did not directly nor indirectly inform anyone of my appointment nor of my intention to examine said books until I entered actively upon my duty.”