Section 179-M. Duties of the comptroller

1. The state comptroller shall:
    a.  Promulgate such rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry
  out the comptroller's responsibilities under this article.
    b. Develop and implement a procedure for  calculating  the  amount  of
  interest,  if  any,  due to any contractor pursuant to the provisions of
  this article. Such procedure shall include  provisions  for  calculating
  (i) the amount of time, in calendar days, between the date of receipt of
  a proper invoice by the state agency and the date on which an approvable
  voucher  was delivered to the state comptroller; (ii) the amount of time
  between the date on which an approvable voucher  was  delivered  to  the
  state comptroller and the payment date; (iii) the amount of interest, if
  any,  chargeable  to the state agency involved pursuant to this article;
  and (iv) the amount of interest, if any, chargeable to the department of
  audit and control pursuant to this article.
    c. Develop and implement a procedure for paying such interest  in  not
  more  than seven days from the payment date on those proper invoices for
  which interest is due and for which the director of the budget does  not
  issue   a  certificate  or  certificates  increasing,  transferring,  or
  interchanging funds so that an interest payment can be made  pusuant  to
  this  article.    The  comptroller  shall  also  develop and implement a
  procedure for paying such interest in not more than fourteen  days  from
  the  payment date on those proper invoices for which interest is due and
  for which the director  of  the  budget  does  issue  a  certificate  or
  certificates increasing, transferring, or interchanging funds so that an
  interest payment can be made pursuant to this article.
    d.  Develop and implement a procedure by which every state agency will
  notify contractors promptly and directly whenever the state  comptroller
  rejects  a voucher and returns it to the state agency due to an error or
  omission in the voucher by the contractor.
    2. Nothing contained in this section shall be deemed to  preclude  the
  comptroller  from  subsequently  promulgating,  developing,  or amending
  rules and regulations or procedures pursuant to,  and  consistent  with,
  this article.
    3. The state comptroller shall submit a detailed special report to the
  governor  and the legislature which shall include the number and amounts
  of interest payments made for each state agency, the number of  interest
  chargeable  days  and  the  number of days taken to process the contract
  payment, the extent to which those delays  occurred  because  the  state
  agency  took  longer  than  allotted  pursuant to the provisions of this
  article to process the affected invoices and the extent to  which  those
  delays  occurred because the department of audit and control took longer
  than allotted pursuant to the provisions of this article to process  the
  related  vouchers, and a summary of the principal reasons that such late
  payments occurred. The report shall be delivered  to  the  governor  and
  legislature  within  sixty  calendar  days  after the conclusion of each
  fiscal year.