BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1493
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1493 (Keeley)
As Amended May 3, 2001
Majority vote
RULES 7-0
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|Ayes:|Cardoza, Leonard, Horton, | | |
| |Aanestad, Liu, Nation, | | |
| |Frommer | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Clarifies the duties of the State Auditor and the Bureau of
State Audits (BSA) by cleaning up statutory references. Specifically
this bill :
1) Deletes obsolete references to the Auditor General and, where the
duty has been assumed by the State Auditor, corrects the reference.
1) Makes various other technical and non-substantive changes.
EXISTING LAW : In 1955, the Legislature created the Joint Legislative
Audit Committee (JLAC) and the Office of the Auditor General. The
Auditor General and his/her staff held exempt positions and were
classified as employees of the State Legislature. It was the duty of
the Auditor General to examine and report upon the financial
statements of state funds prepared by the executive branch of the
state to the end that the Legislature will be informed independently
as to whether such statements present fairly the financial position of
state funds and the results of their operations. In addition, it was
the duty of the Auditor General to make such special audits and
investigations of any agency, whether created by Constitution or
otherwise, as may be requested by the Legislature or any committee of
the Legislature through JLAC.
As of December 4, 1992, the Office of Auditor General became
nonexistent. The Office of Auditor General and the Legislative
Analyst's Office were both severely reduced due to Proposition 140
(legislative term limits).
AB 1944 (Chapter 1, Statutes of 1992) provided monetary relief to the
Auditor General's office for the 1991-92 fiscal year. SCA 34 by
former Senator Maddy, which would have established the Office of the
Auditor General, was defeated at the 1992 November General Election.
AB 1493
Page 2
In 1993, Senators Maddy and Roberti authored SB 37 (Chapter 12,
Statutes of 1993), which created BSA under the Little Hoover
Commission, headed by the State Auditor who would be appointed by the
Governor to a four-year term from a list of three qualified
individuals submitted by JLAC by a vote of at least a majority of the
committee membership from each house of the Legislature. SB 37
provided that BSA shall examine and report annually upon the financial
statements prepared by the executive branch of the state; perform
other related assignments, including performance audits, that are
mandated by statute; and administer the Reporting of Improper
Governmental Activities Act. It further required BSA to conduct
audits and investigations of public entities requested by JLAC to the
extent that funding is available. While SB 37 retained much of the
law concerning the duties and powers of the Auditor General, it did
not change all references in code from Auditor General to State
Auditor.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
Analysis Prepared by : Lia Lopez / RLS. / (916)319-2800 FN:
0001563