BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1055
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 6, 2003
Counsel: Danielle Lee
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Mark Leno, Chair
AB 1055 (Spitzer) - As Amended: March 27, 2003
SUMMARY : Clarifies existing law to require monies from the
District Attorney special fund to only be used to pay for lawful
costs incurred in criminal cases, detection of crimes and civil
actions. Specifically, this bill requires the district attorney
to use the special appropriation fund only to pay:
1)Expenses lawfully incurred in criminal cases arising in the
county;
2)Expenses lawfully incurred in the detection of crime, other
than those declared to be misdemeanors by the Vehicle Code;
or,
3)Expenses lawfully incurred in civil actions, or proceedings.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides that the district attorney is the public prosecutor,
except as otherwise provided. Requires the public prosecutor
to attend the courts, and within his or her discretion,
initiate and conduct all prosecutions for public offenses on
behalf of the people. (Government Code Section 26500.)
2)Establishes a district attorney's special appropriation in
each county. (Government Code Section 29400.)
3)Requires the county board of supervisors for counties having a
population of 90,000 or more to make the sum of $5,000
available to the district attorney's special appropriation at
the beginning of each fiscal year. Allows the board to
transfer additional amounts to the special appropriation.
(Government Code Sections 29401.)
4)Requires the county board of supervisors in all other
counties, to make a board-determined sum of as much as $2,500
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available to the district attorney's special appropriation at
the beginning of each fiscal year. (Penal Code Section
29402.)
5)Provides that the population basis is that fixed by the last
decennial federal census. (Penal Code Section 29403.)
6)Allows the district attorney to use the special appropriation
to pay:
a) His or her expenses incurred in criminal cases arising
in the county;
b) Expenses necessarily incurred by he or she in the
detection of crime, other than those declared to be
misdemeanors by the Vehicle Code; or,
c) Expenses in civil actions, proceedings, or other matters
in which the county is interested. (Government Code Section
29404.)
7)Requires the auditor to draw the warrant in favor of the
district attorney on the district attorney's presentation of
his or her requisition for the amounts the district attorney
requires. Requires the treasurer to pay the warrant.
(Government Code Section 29405.)
8)Requires the district attorney to file vouchers with the
auditor at the end of each fiscal year, and from time to time
during the year, showing the disposition he or she has made of
any money received from the special appropriation and the
particular purpose for which it was spent. Provides that, if
at the end of the fiscal year a criminal proceeding is pending
or under investigation, the vouchers as to any money spent in
the proceeding or investigation need not be filed until the
trial of the proceeding is ended or the investigation
concluded. (Government Code Section 29406.)
9)Provides that the district attorney's special appropriation is
in addition to any other appropriations at his or her
disposal, and that this provision does not limit or affect any
provision of law relative to the expenses of the district
attorney incurred by he or she and paid as other county claims
after allowance by the board of supervisors. (Penal Code
Section 29407.)
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10)Exempts any county operating under a charter making provision
for a similar appropriation from this section. (Government
Code Section 29408.)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "This bill
simply clarifies that this fund shall only be used to pay for
lawful costs incurred in criminal cases, detection of crimes,
and civil actions. This still allows district attorneys to
expend funds on lobbying, but only from accounts that are
public and subject to audit.
"The integrity of the district attorney special fund is
paramount. Since it is an unaudited, secret fund, neither the
public nor the press has any way to know if these funds are
being spent properly. Clearly lobbying and entertainment with
alcohol, unrelated to criminal or civil investigations, should
not be expended from this account. Such activity should only
come out of an account subject to the Public Records Acts."
2)Background : Each district attorney has a special,
non-audited fund that they may use to pay for the expenses
incurred in criminal cases arising in the county, expenses
incurred in the detection of a crime, and expenses incurred in
civil actions, proceedings or other matters in which the
county is interested. The Government Code is broad, yet most
district attorneys have maintained a high level of integrity
when using the fund.
In 2002, the Attorney General helped the Orange County Grand
Jury investigate the actions of the Office of the District
Attorney and found that the office used money from the special
fund to buy meals and alcohol at meetings with law enforcement
personnel, lobbyists, politicians, county and other government
employees, campaign consultants, clergy and media personnel.
The Chief Investigator, who directly oversees the special fund
for the District Attorney, billed the fund on approximately 38
different occasions to pay for bills to the Santa Ana Elks
Club, which included charges for alcohol, a violation of
county policy. A 1994 Orange County District Attorney's
Office policy prohibited employees from using the fund for
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anything other than law enforcement expenses such as witness
protection and undercover operations. When the Grand Jury
panel noted that these funds were used for lobbying and
recommended that the District Attorney enforce the 1994
policy, the District Attorney changed his office policy to
include lobbying. On October 4, 2002, after the media exposed
the change in policy, the District Attorney again changed his
policy to remove the allowance for lobbying.
The Grand Jury found that the language of the District
Attorney's policy, in addition to the current Government Code
Section 29404, can be interpreted so broadly as to justify
almost any expense.
3)Does this bill achieve its intended purpose ? This bill
clarifies that the monies allocated pursuant to this code
cannot be used for any thing other than the enumerated
purposes. According to the author, the recent situation in
Orange County demonstrates that because the fund is unaudited,
it susceptible to misuse. There, the special investigators
had difficulty determining whether the funds had been misused
because the district attorney was unwilling, and contended
that he was under no obligation, to disclose the documents
that demonstrated how the funding had been used. However,
this bill does not create a method of accountability for how
these funds are spent. Additionally, the Attorney General
contended that it has the right to audit the fund because the
Attorney General's office allocates the money in the special
fund and oversees its use. Furthermore, Government Code
Section 29406 requires the district attorney to file vouchers
with the auditors at the end of each fiscal year at a minimum
that show the disposition he or she has made of any money
received from special appropriation and the particular purpose
for which it was spent. Either one of these methods creates a
certain level of accountability by the district attorney as to
how it spends the funds.
It is also unclear whether portions of this fund spent on
lobbying are outside the fund's lawful purpose. The district
attorney's responsibility is set forth in Government Code
Section 26500, and includes initiating and conducting all
prosecutions for public offenses on behalf of the people,
responsibilities which parallel the enumerated purposes of the
fund in Government Code Section 29404: expenses incurred in
criminal cases arising in the county, expenses incurred in the
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detection of crime, and expenses incurred in civil actions or
proceeding. Lobbying is not one of the enumerated duties and
responsibilities of a district attorney. However, many
district attorneys offices regularly engage in lobbying
efforts, whether to sponsor a bill or support or oppose a
proposed law.
4)Is this bill necessary ? This bill states the obvious
requirement that the district attorney's special appropriation
can only be used for lawfully incurred expenses for enumerated
purposes. Those district attorney offices already using their
funds appropriately will be largely, if not completely,
unaffected by this bill. Assuming that it is lawful for
district attorneys to make and fund lobbying efforts, and that
special appropriation funds are accountable either through
Attorney General audits or the vouchers filed yearly with
state auditors, this bill addresses the funds spent on
alcohol, a violation of Orange County policy. This violation
of county policy is a very individual, particularized
situation that may not need to be addressed at a statewide
level.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California District Attorneys Association
Office of the Attorney General
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Danielle Lee / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744