Minnesota State Auditor

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.

State Auditor of Minnesota
Incumbent
Julie Blaha
since January 7, 2019
Style
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 (May 11, 1858)
Salary$108,485[1]
WebsiteOfficial page

Powers and duties

The State Auditor is in effect auditor of public accounts and, as such, is charged with overseeing over $40 billion spent annually by Minnesota's 3,000-plus counties, cities, towns, school districts, soil and water conservation districts, watershed districts, tax increment finance districts, local pension funds and other local governments.[2] The State Auditor carries out this role by performing financial and compliance audits of local government finances, conducting best practices reviews of locally-delivered public services, reviewing documents, data, and reports filed with the Office of the State Auditor, investigating complaints of waste, fraud, or mismanagement of public funds, prescribing uniform systems of accounts, budgeting, and financial reporting applicable to all political subdivisions, and training local government officials and employees on matters of public administration and public finance.[3] 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 enacted by the Governor and Legislature.[4]

In addition, 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.[5][6][7][8][9][10][11]

History

The State Auditor's office has existed since before the Minnesota Territory achieved statehood in 1858. Prior to a 1973 reorganization, the State Auditor acted as the state's comptroller. The role entailed maintaining and settling the state accounts, providing fiscal estimates to the Governor and Legislature, and approving the disbursement of public funds out of the state treasury. As part of the reorganization, the responsibilities of the State Auditor's office were transferred to a state agency known today as the Minnesota Department of Management and Budget. The office then shifted to its current role, which was previously handled by the Public Examiner, an official appointed by the Governor that audited local governments and state agencies alike. Following elimination of the Public Examiner's office, local government auditing vested in the elected State Auditor whereas state agency auditing was assigned to a newly created Office of the Legislative Auditor.[12][13]

Politics of Minnesota
Constitution
Executive
Legislature
Judiciary
Elections
Subdivisions
Federal representation

Territorial Auditors
NameTook OfficeLeft OfficeParty
Jonathan E. McKusick18491852Whig
Abraham Van Vorhes18521853Whig
Socrates Nelson18531854Democratic
Julius Georgii18541858Democratic

The term of the State Auditor was originally three years. In 1883 voters approved a constitutional amendment changing it to four years.

State Auditors
No.NameTerm of OfficeParty
1William F. Dunbar1858–1861Democratic
2Charles McIlrath1861–1873Republican
3Orlan P. Whitcomb1873–1882Republican
4William W. Braden1882–1891Republican
5Adolph Biermann1891–1895Democratic
6Robert C. Dunn1895–1903Republican
7Samuel G. Iverson1903–1915Republican
8J. A. O. Preus1915–1921Republican
9Ray P. Chase1921–1931Republican
10Stafford King1931–1969Republican
11William J. O'Brien1969–1971Republican
12Rolland F. Hatfield1971–1975Republican
13Robert W. Mattson, Jr.1975–1979Democratic-Farmer-Labor
14Arne Carlson1979–1991Independent-Republican
15Mark Dayton1991–1995Democratic-Farmer-Labor
16Judi Dutcher1995–2000Republican
Judi Dutcher 2000-2003 Democratic-Farmer-Labor
17Patricia Anderson (formerly Awada)2003–2007Republican
18Rebecca Otto2007–2019Democratic-Farmer-Labor
19 Julie Blaha 2019-present Democratic-Farmer-Labor

Notes on Minnesota political party names

References
  1. State Elected Officials' Compensation (PDF) (Report). Minnesota House Research Department. 2021. p. 1. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  2. Chapter 6., Minnesota Statutes
  3. Budget Summary for the Office of the State Auditor
  4. "What We Do" | Minnesota Office of the State Auditor
  5. Public Employees Retirement Association, State of Minnesota
  6. Minnesota Executive Council
  7. Minnesota Housing Finance Agency Board
  8. Land Exchange Board, State of Minnesota
  9. Minnesota Records Disposition Panel
  10. Minnesota Rural Finance Authority Board
  11. Minnesota State Board of Investment
  12. "OSA History" | Minnesota Office of the State Auditor
  13. "History of the OLA" | Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor
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