MONTGOMERY — The Alabama Senate Governmental Affairs Committee on Tuesday approved a bill as substituted that would eliminate the Office of the State Auditor.

The committee vote was 6-5. The bill, SB 83, now heads to the full Senate for consideration.

SB 83 would not affect the current officeholder, State Auditor Jim Zeigler. As a constitutional amendment, the bill would go on the November general election ballot for a referendum if passed by the legislature; upon a successful referendum, SB 83 would go into effect following Zeigler’s current term. He is term-limited.

The state auditor’s duties, appointments and responsibilities would be transferred to the existing Office of the State Treasurer. The State Treasurer is a statewide elected position.

Tuesday’s committee action came after the committee last week carried the bill over for the second consecutive week.

EDITOR’S NOTE:

The original version of SB 83 would have transferred the state auditor’s duties and responsibilities to the existing Department of Examiners of Public Accounts; additionally, the state auditor’s duty to make an appointment to each local board of registrars would have been transferred to the lieutenant governor. The substitute approved in committee changed that important aspect of the bill.

Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn