MOSCOW, September 26 (RAPSI) – A bill on increased control over expenditure of municipal and regional budgets in Russia has reached the State Duma, according to the database of the lower house of parliament.

The bill grants municipalities a right to delegate authority on external financial control to regional seats of power. Authors of the bill say that this measure should improve quality of audit services because regional authorities may hire specialists of higher qualification to review budget expenses on local level and saving money for remote and scarcely populated municipalities.

According to the bill, law enforcement agencies must inform regional lawmakers on preliminary investigations and decisions based on documents provided by state auditors, a practice already in place on the federal level.