BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 548|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 548
Author: Chesbro (D)
Amended: 1/4/10 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE : 5-0, 7/01/09
AYES: Wiggins, Cox, Aanestad, Kehoe, Wolk
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 12-0, 7/13/09
AYES: Kehoe, Cox, Corbett, Denham, Hancock, Leno, Price,
Runner, Walters, Wolk, Wyland, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Oropeza
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 6/3/09 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : State mandates
SOURCE : California Association of School Business
Officials
Five Star Education Coalition
Riverside County Schools Advocacy Association
DIGEST : This bill extends the timeframe within which the
State Controller may audit a reimbursement claim from three
years of the filing or amendment of a claim to within four
years of that filing. This bill eliminates the authority
of the State Controller to audit a reimbursement claim
within three years of the payment of a claim if no funds
are appropriated or payment made for the fiscal year for
which the claim is filed.
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AB 548
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Senate Floor Amendments of 1/4/10 change the bill's author
from Assemblymember Krekorian to Assemblymember Chesbro,
and make a technical change.
ANALYSIS : Existing law:
1.Requires the Commission on State Mandates to hear and
decide upon a claim by a local agency or school district
that the local agency or school district is entitled to
be reimbursed by the state for costs mandated by the
state.
2.Requires the State Controller to initiate an audit of a
reimbursement claim for actual costs filed by a local
agency or a school district no later than three years
after the date that the actual reimbursement claim is
filed or last amended, whichever is later, unless no
funds are appropriated or no payment is made to a
claimant for the program for the fiscal year for which
the claim is filed, in which case the time for the State
Controller to initiate an audit is required to run from
the date of the initial payment of the claim.
This bill repeals the State Controller's authority to
initiate an audit up to three years after the initial
payment of a mandate claim if no funds are appropriated or
no payment is made to a claimant for the program for the
fiscal year for which the claim is filed. This bill
prohibits the State Controller from initiating an audit
more than four years after the date that a mandate
reimbursement claim is filed or last amended, whichever is
later.
Comments
Delays in the audit process for mandate claims create
problems for local governments. Deferring audits of
reimbursement claims can leave local officials in the dark
about their compliance with reimbursement guidelines and
require them to maintain many years' worth of detailed
records relating to mandate costs. Through no fault of
their own, local governments must sometimes carry out
mandates for years under the threat that an audit may
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eventually require them to return reimbursement funds to
the state. As a result of this uncertainty, local
officials may hesitate from spending reimbursement funds
until after audits are completed. This bill solves this
problem by setting a firm deadline, thereby forcing the
Controller's office to audit local governments' claims more
expeditiously.
Prior Legislation
This bill is similar to a provision in AB 1170 (Krekorian,
2007) which died in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2009-10 2010-11
2011-12 Fund
SCO audits unknown
costs due to elimination of audit General
authority based upon timing of payments,
offset
by potential savings related to extension of
audit
window based upon timing of filing of claims
SUPPORT : (Verified 1/12/10)
California Association of School Business Officials
(co-source)
Five Star Education Coalition (co-source)
Riverside County Schools Advocacy Association (co-source)
State Controller John Chiang
American Federation of State County and Municipal
Employees, AFL-CIO
California Federation of Teachers
California State Association of Counties
City of Los Angeles
Elk Grove Unified School District
Los Angeles Unified School District
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Saddleback Valley Unified School District
San Diego County Board of Supervisors
The Education Coalition
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Blumenfield,
Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter,
Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon,
DeVore, Duvall, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher,
Fong, Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani,
Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi,
Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight,
Krekorian, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza,
Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, John A.
Perez, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Price, Ruskin, Salas,
Saldana, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Audra
Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran,
Villines, Bass
NO VOTE RECORDED: Block, Yamada
AGB:nl 1/12/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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