To ensure the financial integrity of the lottery, the commission, through its board, shall:
(1) submit quarterly and annual reports to the Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Comptroller General, the State Treasurer, and the Chairmen of the House Ways and Means Committee, the Senate Finance Committee, and the oversight committee created by Section 59-150-325 disclosing the total lottery revenues, prize disbursements, operating expenses, and administrative expenses of the commission during the reporting period. The annual report additionally must describe the organizational structure of the commission, summarize the functions performed by each organizational division within the commission, and contain a detailed budget for the next fiscal year. The quarterly reports must be submitted within fifteen days of the end of the quarter, and the annual report must be submitted by October fifteenth;
(2) adopt a system of internal audits;
(3) maintain weekly or more frequently records of lottery transactions including the distribution of lottery game tickets or shares to a lottery retailer, revenues received, claims for prizes, prizes paid, prizes forfeited, and other financial transactions of the commission;
(4) authorize the State Auditor to contract with a certified public accountant or firm for an independently audited financial statement prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, to be submitted to the Comptroller General's office each year no later than October fifteenth. The certified public accountant or firm shall not have a financial interest in a lottery vendor with whom the commission is under contract. The certified public accountant or firm shall evaluate the internal auditing controls in effect during the audit period. The cost of this annual financial audit is an operating expense of the commission. The State Auditor may at any time audit, or cause to be audited, any phase of the operations of the commission at the expense of the State and shall receive a copy of the annual independent financial audit. A copy of an interim audit performed by the certified public accountant or firm or the State Auditor must be transmitted after the close of the commission's fiscal year to the Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the State Treasurer, the Comptroller General, and the Chairmen of the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee, and the oversight committee co-chairmen;
(5) submit, for informational purposes only, to the Office of State Budget of the Executive Budget Office and Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office by June thirtieth of each year a copy of the annual operating budget for the commission for the next fiscal year. This annual operating budget must be approved by the South Carolina Lottery Commission Board;
(6) submit, for informational purposes only, to the Office of State Budget on November tenth of each year a proposed operating budget for the commission for the upcoming fiscal year; this budget proposal also must be accompanied by an estimate of the net proceeds to be deposited into the Education Lottery Account during the upcoming fiscal year;
(7) adopt the same fiscal year as that used by state government; and
(8) authorize the Legislative Audit Council to contract with an independent firm experienced in security procedures including, but not limited to, computer security and systems security, to periodically conduct a comprehensive study and evaluation of all aspects of security in the operation of the commission and the lottery. This firm shall not have a financial interest in a lottery vendor with whom the commission is under contract. The cost of this evaluation is an operating expense of the commission. The commission shall pay directly to the Legislative Audit Council the cost of the evaluation.
HISTORY: 2001 Act No. 59, Section 2; 2005 Act No. 164, Section 35, eff June 10, 2005; 2019 Act No. 1 (S.2), Section 73, eff January 31, 2019.
Effect of Amendment
The 2005 amendment, in item (1), in the first sentence deleted "the State Auditor" preceding "the Comptroller General"; in item (4), in the fifth sentence substituted "audit, or cause to be audited" for "conduct and audit" and in the sixth sentence deleted "the State Auditor," preceding "the State Treasurer,"; and, in item (5), deleted "and the State Auditor" following "Budget and Control Board".
2019 Act No. 1, Section 73, in (1), in the first sentence, substituted "President of the Senate" for "President Pro Tempore of the Senate"; and in (4), in the sixth sentence, substituted "President of the Senate" for "President Pro Tempore of the Senate".