                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

POWERS AND DUTIES OF STATE INSPECTOR GENERAL (§ 2.2-309)

A. The State Inspector General shall have power and duty to:

   1. Operate and manage the Office and employ such personnel as may be required
   to carry out the provisions of this chapter;

   2. Make and enter contracts and agreements as may be necessary and incidental
   to carry out the provisions of this chapter and apply for and accept grants
   from the United States government and agencies and instrumentalities thereof,
   and any other source, in furtherance of the provisions of this chapter;

   3. Receive complaints from whatever source that allege fraud, waste, including
   task or program duplication, abuse, or corruption by a state agency or
   nonstate agency or by any officer or employee of the foregoing and determine
   whether the complaints give reasonable cause to investigate;

   4. Receive complaints under &#xA7; 2.2-2832 from persons alleging retaliation
   by an officer or employee of a state agency for providing testimony before a
   committee or subcommittee of the General Assembly and determine whether the
   complaints give reasonable cause to investigate;

   5. Investigate the management and operations of state agencies, nonstate
   agencies, and independent contractors of state agencies to determine whether
   acts of fraud, waste, abuse, or corruption have been committed or are being
   committed by state officers or employees or independent contractors of a state
   agency or any officers or employees of a nonstate agency, including any
   allegations of criminal acts affecting the operations of state agencies or
   nonstate agencies. However, no investigation of an elected official of the
   Commonwealth to determine whether a criminal violation has occurred, is
   occurring, or is about to occur under the provisions of &#xA7; 52-8.1 shall be
   initiated, undertaken, or continued except upon the request of the Governor,
   the Attorney General, or a grand jury;

   6. Prepare a detailed report of each investigation stating whether fraud,
   waste, abuse, or corruption has been detected. If fraud, waste, abuse, or
   corruption is detected, the report shall (i) identify the person committing
   the wrongful act or omission, (ii) describe the wrongful act or omission, and
   (iii) describe any corrective measures taken by the state agency or nonstate
   agency in which the wrongful act or omission was committed to prevent
   recurrences of similar actions;

   7. Provide timely notification to the appropriate attorney for the
   Commonwealth and law-enforcement agencies whenever the State Inspector General
   has reasonable grounds to believe there has been a violation of state criminal
   law;

   8. Administer the Fraud and Abuse Whistle Blower Reward Fund created pursuant
   to &#xA7; 2.2-3014;

   9. Oversee the Fraud, Waste and Abuse Hotline;

   10. Conduct performance reviews of state agencies to assess the efficiency,
   effectiveness, or economy of programs and to ascertain, among other things,
   that sums appropriated have been or are being expended for the purposes for
   which the appropriation was made and prepare a report for each performance
   review detailing any findings or recommendations for improving the efficiency,
   effectiveness, or economy of state agencies, including recommending changes in
   the law to the Governor and the General Assembly that are necessary to address
   such findings;

   11. Coordinate and require standards for those internal audit programs in
   existence as of July 1, 2012, and for other internal audit programs in state
   agencies and nonstate agencies as needed in order to ensure that the
   Commonwealth&#8217;s assets are subject to appropriate internal management
   controls;

   12. As deemed necessary, assess the condition of the accounting, financial,
   and administrative controls of state agencies and nonstate agencies and make
   recommendations to protect the Commonwealth&#8217;s assets;

   13. Assist agency internal auditing programs with technical auditing issues
   and coordinate and provide training to the Commonwealth&#8217;s internal
   auditors;

   14. Assist citizens in understanding their rights and the processes available
   to them to express concerns regarding the activities of a state agency or
   nonstate agency or any officer or employee of the foregoing;

   15. Maintain data on inquiries received, the types of assistance requested,
   any actions taken, and the disposition of each such matter;

   16. Upon request, assist citizens in using the procedures and processes
   available to express concerns regarding the activities of a state or nonstate
   agency or any officer or employee of the foregoing;

   17. Ensure that citizens have access to the services provided by the State
   Inspector General and that citizens receive timely responses to their
   inquiries from the State Inspector General or his representatives; and

   18. Do all acts necessary or convenient to carry out the purposes of this
   chapter.

B. If the State Inspector General receives a complaint from whatever source that
alleges fraud, waste, abuse, or corruption by a public institution of higher
education that is (i) a covered institution as defined by the Restructured
Higher Education Financial and Administrative Operations Act (&#xA7; 23.1-1000
et seq.) and (ii) classified as a Level 3 institution by the State Council of
Higher Education for Virginia, or any of its officers or employees, the State
Inspector General shall, but for reasonable and articulable causes, refer the
complaint to the internal audit department of the public institution of higher
education for investigation. However, if the complaint concerns the president of
the institution or its internal audit department, or if the State Inspector
General otherwise concludes that his office should investigate the complaint to
ensure a comprehensive and fully independent investigation, the investigation
shall be conducted by the State Inspector General. The State Inspector General
may provide assistance for investigations as may be requested by the public
institution of higher education.
			The public institution of higher education shall provide periodic updates on
the status of investigations, whether they originated internally or were
referred by the State Inspector General, and report annually to the State
Inspector General on the results of all such investigations.

C. The State Inspector General shall establish procedures governing the intake
and investigation of complaints alleging allegations of fraud, waste, abuse, or
corruption by a state agency or nonstate agency or by any officer or employee of
a state agency or nonstate agency. Such procedures shall:

   1. Provide that the State Inspector General, or his designee, shall review
   each decision to dismiss an allegation reported to the State Fraud, Waste, and
   Abuse Hotline at the initial intake stage without further investigation.

   2. Require that (i) investigators of the Office of the State Inspector General
   directly investigate allegations of serious administrative violations and (ii)
   other agency internal audit divisions may investigate allegations meeting
   certain criteria specified by the State Inspector General, only if the
   internal audit division has demonstrated the ability to conduct investigations
   in an independent, effective, and timely manner. Criteria may include
   allegations below a specified dollar threshold.

   3. Require oversight by the Office of the State Inspector General of all
   investigations referred to other agencies to ensure quality, timeliness, and
   independence.

   4. Develop a process for the regular review of the status of recommendations
   made by the Office of the State Inspector General as a result of an
   investigation conducted pursuant to this chapter.

D. The State Inspector General shall submit an annual report to the General
Assembly on or before December 1 of each year that states the number of
complaints received by the Office alleging abuse, neglect, or inadequate care at
a state psychiatric hospital during the prior fiscal year and the number of such
complaints that were fully investigated by the Office.

HISTORY: 2011, cc. 798, 871; 2013, cc. 717, 723; 2014, c. 788; 2016, c. 628;
2020, c. 354; 2024, c. 664.