84-311. Reports and working papers; disclosure status; penalty.

(1)(a) All final audit reports issued by the Auditor of Public Accounts shall be maintained permanently as a public record in the office of the Auditor of Public Accounts.

(b) Working papers and other audit files maintained by the Auditor of Public Accounts are not public records and are exempt from sections 84-712 to 84-712.05. The information contained in working papers and audit files prepared pursuant to a specific audit is not subject to disclosure except to a county attorney or the Attorney General in connection with an investigation made or action taken in the course of the attorney's official duties or to the Legislative Performance Audit Committee in the course of the committee's official duties and pursuant to the requirements of subdivision (16) of section 50-1205 or subdivision (5) of section 84-304.

(c) A public entity being audited and any federal agency that has made a grant to such public entity shall also have access to the relevant working papers and audit files, except that such access shall not include information that would disclose or otherwise indicate the identity of any individual who has confidentially provided the Auditor of Public Accounts with allegations of wrongdoing regarding, or other information pertaining to, the public entity being audited.

(d) The Auditor of Public Accounts may, at his or her discretion, share working papers, other than personal information and telephone records, with the Legislative Council. The Auditor of Public Accounts may, at his or her discretion, share working papers with the Attorney General, the Internal Revenue Service, the Tax Commissioner, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, a law enforcement agency as defined in section 28-359, and the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission. The working papers may be shared with such entities during an ongoing audit or after the final audit report is issued. The Auditor of Public Accounts shall not, under the authority granted in this subdivision, reveal sealed or confidential court records contained in working papers.

(e) For purposes of this subsection, working papers means those documents containing evidence to support the auditor's findings, opinions, conclusions, and judgments and includes the collection of evidence prepared or obtained by the auditor during the audit.

(f) The Auditor of Public Accounts may make the working papers available for purposes of an external quality control review as required by generally accepted government auditing standards. However, any reports made from such external quality control review shall not make public any information which would be considered confidential under this section when in the possession of the Auditor of Public Accounts.

(2) If the Auditor of Public Accounts or any employee of the Auditor of Public Accounts knowingly divulges or makes known in any manner not permitted by law any record, document, or information, the disclosure of which is restricted by law, he or she is subject to the same penalties provided in section 84-712.09.

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