The Senate Fiscal Accountability and Economic Development Committee has approved a bill that would give the Alabama State Auditor the power to investigate missing state property.

State Senator Andrew Jones (R-Central) has introduced a bill that would create a new investigative division within the state auditor's office.

The act would allow the State Auditor to investigate the loss, theft, or damage to State property and to require the return of the value of property lost, stolen, or damaged through negligent conduct.

State Auditor Andrew Sorrell spoke to WVNN about his support for the bill regarding the “Yaffee Program.”

“No additional staffing is required,” Sorrell said. “No additional funding is required to implement what's in this bill. The Inspector General, the Public Accountant and the Attorney General's Office have reviewed this bill and have no concerns, so we don't anticipate a lot of opposition to this bill. This bill also updates the existing code to more modern language and makes other important technical fixes.”

Sorrell also explained how the law would be enforced.

“This law strengthens accountability for state property and requires lost or stolen property to be reported within 30 days,” he said. “It gives my office the authority to conduct investigations into the loss of state property. It also gives us and the Attorney General the authority to issue demands to the state for repayment if state property is found to have been negligently lost or damaged. And if the demands are ignored, the Attorney General can bring a civil lawsuit against anyone who must repay the money to the state.”

The state auditor said the bill should have broad support.

“You know, there are only nine days left in the Congressional session, so I think if anything were to screw up Congress, it would be that there's not enough time left in the session,” he explained, “but I would say the odds are better than 50/50.”

Yaffe is a contributing writer for Yellow Hammer News and hosts “The Yaffe Program” weekdays from 9-11 a.m. WhistlerYou can follow us on Twitter @Yaffe