Section 72. (a) There shall be within the department, but not subject to the control of the department, an internal special audit unit. The inspector general shall appoint a director of the special audit unit, who shall serve as an assistant inspector general, under the supervision of the inspector general, for a term of 4 years. The inspector general may remove the director for cause and designate an interim director until a new director is appointed. The director shall devote full time and attention to the duties of the office.

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  (b) The director may appoint and remove, subject to the approval of the inspector general, such persons as are necessary to perform the functions of the unit; provided, however, that section 9A of chapter 30 and chapter 31 shall not apply to any person holding such an appointment. The director may appoint and remove, subject to the approval of the inspector general, such expert, clerical or other assistants as the work of the unit may require. Employees shall devote their full-time and attention to their duties while employed with the unit and shall be subject to the rules and regulations established for employees of the office of the inspector general pursuant to section 4 of chapter 12A.

  (c) The internal special audit unit shall monitor the quality, efficiency and integrity of the department’s operations, organizational structure and management functions and seek to prevent, detect and correct fraud, waste and abuse in the expenditure of public funds. The director shall have access to all records, reports, audits, reviews, papers, books, documents, recommendations and correspondence of the department or any employee of the department including, but not limited to, information relative to all expenditures by the department for paid details and overtime.

  The department shall cooperate with the special audit unit in carrying out the special audit unit’s duties, including granting access to persons, documents, databases, electronic data and other materials deemed necessary by the director to conduct an investigation, audit or review.

  Under the direction of the inspector general, the director of the internal special audit unit shall have all the powers of the inspector general pursuant to chapter 12A and any rule or regulation promulgated pursuant thereto.

  (d) The director shall report and refer instances of fraud, waste or abuse of public funds to the inspector general for investigation pursuant to section 8 of chapter 12A and the results of such an investigation may be referred to the attorney general or state auditor for appropriate action.

[ Subsection (e) effective until March 29, 2023. For text effective March 29, 2023, see below.]

  (e) The director shall submit an annual report of the unit’s activities for the preceding calendar year including, but not limited to, findings referred to the inspector general for investigation, to the joint committee on public safety and homeland security and the house and senate committees on ways and means not later than March 1 of each year. The department shall make the annual report and all such reports from previous years available on the department’s website.

[ Subsection (e) as amended by 2023, 2, Sec. 5 effective March 29, 2023. For text effective until March 29, 2023, see above.]

  (e) The director shall submit to the inspector general, for inclusion in the annual report pursuant to section 12 of chapter 12A, a report of the unit’s activities for the preceding calendar year, including, but not limited to, findings referred to the inspector general for investigation. The inspector general shall submit the annual report to the joint committee on public safety and homeland security not later than April 30 of each year. The department shall make the annual report and all such reports from previous years publicly available on the department’s website.