Clark Chapin (R) assumed office as an auditor of public accounts in Connecticut on May 6. The Office of the Auditors of Public Accounts is a legislative agency in the Connecticut state government responsible for the state’s financial and accounting functions. Unlike any other state, Connecticut’s auditing agency is led by two partisan auditors—one Democrat and one Republican. Chapin occupies the Republican seat and will serve alongside the Democratic auditor, John C. Geragosian.
Republican members of the Connecticut General Assembly nominated Chapin on April 8 to fill the vacancy created by Robert Kane’s (R) death in February. The General Assembly confirmed Chapin as the new Republican auditor on May 6, for a term beginning that day. He will serve for the remainder of Kane’s term, which ends on June 30, 2023.
Chapin was a member of the Connecticut State Senate, representing District 30 from 2013 to 2017. He did not seek reelection in 2016. Before being elected to the state Senate, Chapin was a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives, representing the 67th District from 2001 to 2013.
Forty-eight (48) states have a statewide auditor, with New York and Tennessee being the two states that do not. The state auditor’s office belongs to either the executive or legislative branch, depending on the state. While both offices are similar in function, a legislative auditor functions primarily under the state legislature and is not considered a state executive office. Connecticut is one of 23 states that have legislative auditors. Thirty-three (33) states have executive branch auditors, and eight states have both.
According to the Office of the Connecticut Auditors of Public Accounts, the agency “can trace its origin to a charter granted in 1662 to the Colony of Connecticut by King Charles the Second of England… Its organization, with two state auditors not of the same political party, makes Connecticut unique among state auditing agencies. From its colonial origin, Connecticut’s audit function has been performed by more than a single auditor.”
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