BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1055|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1055
Author: Spitzer (R)
Amended: 3/27/03 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 5-0, 6/17/03
AYES: McPherson, Vasconcellos, Margett, Romero, Sher
ABSENT/ABSTAINING/NOT VOTING: Burton
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 5/15/03 (Passed on Consent) - See
last page for vote
SUBJECT : District attorney: special appropriation
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill explicitly provides that the district
attorney must use the special appropriation for expenses
necessarily incurred in criminal cases arising in the
county, in the detection of crime or in civil actions or
proceedings.
ANALYSIS : 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.
2.Establishes a district attorney's special appropriation
CONTINUED
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in each county.
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.
4.Requires the county board of supervisors in all other
counties, to make a board-determined sum of as much as
$2,500 available to the district attorney's special
appropriation at the beginning of each fiscal year.
5.Provides that the population basis is that fixed by the
last decennial federal census.
6.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.
7.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.
8.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.
9.Exempts any county operating under a charter making
provision for a similar appropriation from this section.
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10.Provides that the district attorney may use the special
appropriation to pay:
A. His 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.
C. Expenses in civil actions, proceedings, or other
matters in which the county is interested.
This bill provides instead that the district attorney shall
use the special appropriation to pay:
A. Expenses lawfully incurred in criminal cases
arising in the county.
B. Expenses lawfully incurred by in the detection of
crime, other than those declared to be misdemeanors by
the Vehicle Code.
C. Expenses lawfully incurred in civil actions,
proceedings.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/18/03)
Attorney General
Auditor-Controller County of Orange
California District Attorneys Association
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office:
Each district attorney has a special, non-audited,
non-sunshine 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 in civil
action, proceedings or other matters in which the county is
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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.
After it was noted that these funds were used for lobbying,
the District Attorney changed his office policy to include
these activities. 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 29404 can be interpreted so broadly as to justify
almost any expense. With regard to the entire Grand Jury
investigation, the Attorney General stated that the
district attorney had made some "bad management decisions"
and that his office is beset with morale problems.
This legislation would simply clarify 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 be expended from this account. Such
activity should only come out of an account subject to the
Public Records Act.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
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AYES: Aghazarian, Bates, Benoit, Berg, Bermudez, Bogh,
Calderon, Canciamilla, Chan, Chavez, Chu, Cogdill, Cohn,
Corbett, Correa, Cox, Diaz, Dutra, Dutton, Dymally,
Firebaugh, Frommer, Garcia, Goldberg, Hancock, Harman,
Haynes, Jerome Horton, Shirley Horton, Houston, Jackson,
Keene, Kehoe, Koretz, La Malfa, La Suer, Laird, Leno,
Leslie, Levine, Lieber, Liu, Longville, Lowenthal,
Maddox, Maldonado, Matthews, Maze, McCarthy, Montanez,
Mountjoy, Mullin, Nakanishi, Nation, Negrete McLeod,
Nunez, Oropeza, Pacheco, Parra, Pavley, Plescia, Reyes,
Richman, Ridley-Thomas, Runner, Salinas, Samuelian,
Simitian, Spitzer, Steinberg, Strickland, Vargas,
Wiggins, Wolk, Wyland, Yee
RJG:nl 6/18/03 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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