State auditor lawsuit now in judge’s hands
Ramsey County Judge Lezlie Marek will decide in the coming weeks whether Minnesota lawmakers overstepped their authority by allowing counties to bypass the state auditor and hire private accounting firms to conduct financial audits.
State Auditor Rebecca Otto filed a lawsuit earlier this year challenging the 2015 law. Lawyers for Otto and the three counties she’s suing presented arguments during a court hearing Wednesday in St. Paul.
Otto contends the law is unconstitutional and will undermine the core function of her office. Her lawyer, Joe Dixon, described it as an “attack by the Legislature” and a “serious affront to the balance of power.”
Following the hearing, Otto told reporters that she was defending the state constitution with her legal challenge.
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“Allowing the counties to reject the authority of the state auditor to carry out annual audits on behalf of the taxpayers and allow the counties to choose their auditor is not only bad policy but it’s unconstitutional,” Otto said. “Taxpayers deserve better in this state.”
But Scott Anderson, the lawyer representing two of the three counties Otto named in her lawsuit, argued that there was no evidence of a constitutional violation or of any "gutting" of the office functions. Anderson also said Otto had overstated the potential impact of the law. He said many counties are already using outside auditors
“It does not really change in any meaningful way of what’s been done by the state auditor for the last 13 years,” Anderson told reporters after the hearing.
Otto’s beef for the past year has been with the Legislature. But she is suing Becker, Ramsey and Wright counties. The state is no longer listed as a defendant in the lawsuit.
Anderson said he doesn’t know why the lawsuit names those three counties.
“We’ve been asking ourselves that too,” he said.
Otto declined to elaborate.
“My attorneys told me I can’t talk about strategy,” she said.
The new law is set to take effect on Aug. 1. Judge Marek said she would make a ruling in the case soon.