BILL NUMBER: SB 35 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 243
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 22, 2005
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 22, 2005
PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 7, 2005
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 31, 2005
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 27, 2005
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 8, 2005
INTRODUCED BY Senator Florez
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Chan)
DECEMBER 14, 2004
An act to amend Section 130150 of, and to add Section 130151 to,
the Health and Safety Code, relating to child development.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 35, Florez California Children and Families Program.
(1) The California Children and Families Act of 1998, an
initiative measure, requires that the California Children and
Families Program, established by the act, be funded by surtaxes
imposed on the sale and distribution of cigarettes and tobacco
products and deposited into the California Children and Families
Trust Fund, and that the fund be used for the implementation of
comprehensive early childhood development and smoking prevention
programs. Existing law establishes a state commission, First 5
California, with powers and duties relating to the administration of
the act on a state level, and authorizes a county's board of
supervisors to establish a county children and families commission to
administer the act on a county level.
Existing law requires county commissions, for each fiscal year, to
receive the portion of the total moneys available to all county
commissions equal to the percentage of the number of births recorded
in the relevant county (for the most recent reporting period) in
proportion to the number of births recorded in all of the counties
participating in the California Children and Families Program (for
the same period), if certain requirements are met.
Existing law requires each county commission, on or before October
15 of each year, to conduct an audit of, and issue a written report
on the implementation and performance of, its functions during the
preceding fiscal year, and requires the state commission to prepare a
written report that consolidates, summarizes, analyzes, and comments
on the annual audits and reports submitted by all of the county
commissions.
This bill would require each county commission, on or before
November 1 of each year, to submit its audit and report to the state
commission. It would require the report to be in a format prescribed
by the state commission, if the state commission approves that format
in a public meeting prior to the fiscal year in which it is to be
utilized. The bill would require that the state commission's report
include a listing, by category, of the aggregate expenditures on
program areas funded by the state and county commissions. It would
also authorize the state commission to withhold funds that would
otherwise be allocated to the county commission from the California
Children and Families Trust Fund in the event a county commission
does not submit required information for the written report.
This bill, in addition, would require the Controller to issue
guidelines for expanded annual audits of each county commission and
associated quality control functions, subject to funding by the state
commission, and to present the final audit guidelines and
implementation plan to the state commission in a public meeting on or
before April 30, 2006.
This bill would only become operative if AB 109 of the 2005-06
Regular Session is enacted and becomes operative.
(2) The California Constitution provides that the Legislature may
amend an initiative statute by another statute that becomes effective
only when approved by the voters unless the initiative statute
permits amendment without voter approval. The act provides that it
may be amended only by a vote of 2/3 of the membership of both houses
of the Legislature and that all amendments pursuant to this
provision shall be to further the act and must be consistent with its
purposes.
This bill, in conformance with those requirements, would declare
that its provisions further the act and are consistent with its
purposes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 130150 of the Health and Safety Code is amended
to read:
130150. (a) On or before October 15 of each year, each county
commission shall conduct an audit of, and issue a written report on
the implementation and performance of, its functions during the
preceding fiscal year, including, at a minimum, the manner in which
funds were expended, the progress toward, and the achievement of,
program goals and objectives, and information on programs funded and
populations served for all funded programs.
On or before November 1 of each year, each county commission shall
submit its audit and report to the state commission for inclusion in
the state commission's consolidated report required in subdivision
(b). Each commission shall submit its report in a format prescribed
by the state commission if the state commission approves that format
in a public meeting prior to the fiscal year during which it is to be
used by the county commissions. The state commission shall develop
the format in consultation with the county commissions.
(b) The state commission shall, on or before January 31 of each
year, do both of the following:
(1) Conduct an audit and prepare a written report on the
implementation and performance of the state commission functions
during the preceding fiscal year, including, at a minimum, the manner
in which funds were expended and the progress toward, and the
achievement of, program goals and objectives.
(2) Prepare a written report that consolidates, summarizes,
analyzes, and comments on the annual audits and reports submitted by
all of the county commissions and the Controller for the preceding
fiscal year. The written report shall include a listing, by category,
of the aggregate expenditures on program areas funded by the state
and county commissions pursuant to the purposes of this act,
according to a format prescribed by the state commission. This
report by the state commission shall be transmitted to the Governor,
the Legislature, and each county commission.
(3) In the event a county commission does not submit the
information prescribed in subdivision (a), the state commission may
withhold funds that would otherwise have been allocated to the county
commission from the California Children and Families Trust Fund
pursuant to Section 130140 until the county commission submits the
data as required by subdivision (a).
(c) The state commission shall make copies of each of its annual
audits and reports available to members of the general public on
request and at no cost. The state commission shall furnish each
county commission with copies of those documents in a number
sufficient for local distribution by the county commission to members
of the general public on request and at no cost.
(d) Each county commission shall make copies of its annual audits
and reports available to members of the general public on request and
at no cost.
SEC. 2. Section 130151 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to
read:
130151. (a) In addition to the requirements in Section 130150,
the Controller shall issue guidelines for expanded annual audits of
each county commission required pursuant to subdivision (b) of
Section 130150 and associated quality control functions, subject to
funding by the state commission.
(b) The scope of the audits shall address a review of county
commission policies and practices with respect to the following
elements:
(1) Contracting and procurement policies, to determine whether
they are in place pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (d) of
Section 130140, whether state and county commissions are operating in
accordance with these policies, and whether these policies contain
provisions to ensure that the grants and contracts are consistent
with the state or county commission's strategic plan.
(2) Administrative costs, to ensure that the county commission's
definitions comply with the state commission's guidelines and that
the county commission has a process in place to monitor these costs.
(3) Policies and procedures, established pursuant to paragraph (4)
of subdivision (d) of Section 130140, designed to assure compliance
by the state commission and county commissions with all applicable
state and local conflict-of-interest statutes and regulations.
(4) Policies and practices designed to assure that county
commissions are adhering to county commission ordinances established
pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 130140.
(5) Long-range financial plans, to determine whether state and
county commissions have these plans and that the plans have been
formally adopted by the commission in a public hearing.
(6) Financial condition of the commission.
(7) Amount commissions spend on program evaluation and the
documented results of these expenditures.
(8) Salaries and benefit policies, to determine whether the county
commission's employee salaries and benefits comply with the policies
that the county commission adopted pursuant to paragraph (6) of
subdivision (d) of Section 130140.
(c) The auditor for the state commission or the county commission
shall submit each audit report, upon completion, simultaneously to
both the Controller and to the state commission or applicable county
commission.
(d) The state commission and each respective county commission
shall schedule a public hearing within two months of receipt of the
audit to discuss findings within the report and any response to the
findings. Within two weeks of the public hearing, the state or county
commission shall submit to the Controller a response to the audit
findings.
(e) Within six months of the state or county commission's response
pursuant to subdivision (d), the Controller shall determine whether
a county commission has successfully corrected its practices in
response to the findings contained in the audit report. The
Controller may, after that determination, recommend to the state
commission to withhold the allocation of money that the county
commission would otherwise receive from the California Children and
Families Trust Fund until the Controller determines that the county
commission has a viable plan and the ability to correct the practices
identified in the audit.
(f) The Controller shall prepare a summary report of the final
audits and submit the report to the state commission by November 1 of
each year for inclusion in the annual report required pursuant to
subdivision (b) of Section 130150.
(g) On or before April 30, 2006, the Controller shall present to
the state commission in a public meeting the final audit guidelines
and implementation plan. When developing the guidelines, the
Controller shall consider the reasonableness of the projected costs
and administrative burden of the required audit functions.
SEC. 3. This act shall only become operative if Assembly Bill 109
of the 2005-06 Regular Session is enacted and becomes operative.
SEC. 4. The Legislature finds and declares that this act furthers
the California Children and Families Act of 1998 enacted by
Proposition 10 at the November 3, 1998, general election, and is
consistent with its purposes.