BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1820
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Date of Hearing: April 14, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 1820 (Portantino) - As Introduced: February 11, 2010
Policy Committee: Business and
Professions Vote: 9 - 0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill establishes the Office of the California Inspector
General (OCIG). Specifically, this bill:
1)Establishes the OCIG, headed by the California Inspector
General who is appointed by the governor with the consent of
the Senate.
2)Specifies that the Inspector General shall serve for a term of
four years and shall be removed from office by a majority vote
of the Senate and the Assembly.
3)Authorizes the Inspector General to appoint a Chief Deputy
Inspector General and employ officers and employees he or she
deems necessary.
4)Specifies that the annual salary of the Inspector General
shall be equal to that of agency secretaries of the executive
branch of government.
5)Authorizes the OCIG to investigate all state entities that are
headed up by governor's appointees.
FISCAL EFFECT
Based on the duties outlined in the bill and the current budget
for the Bureau of State Audits - with 147 PYs and a budget of
$18 million - which has similar duties, annual costs for the new
inspector general's office would likely exceed $10 million (GF).
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COMMENTS
1)Rationale . The author is concerned that there are no state
agencies currently tasked with identifying and investigating
fraud and waste. He asserts that "there is no single agency
that can act completely and independently to do these
functions." According to the author, creating the OCIG in
California will create a watch dog that can look everywhere
and will ensure that government money, assets and effort are
used in a manner that supports the publics' trust in
government.
2)Bureau of State Audits (BSA) . The BSA is a non-partisan office
headed by the State Auditor (SA), which is tasked with
independently examining records, administering oaths, issuing
subpoenas, and conducting and reporting on financial and
performance audits of every state agency, constitutional
office, and local governmental agency. In addition, the BSA
administers the California Whistleblower Protection Act; has
the authority to identify, audit, and report on state issues
that the SA recognizes as being at high risk for waste, fraud,
abuse, and mismanagement, or that have major challenges
related to efficiency or effectiveness; and issues a high risk
list every two years that identifies, audits, and issues
reports with recommendations for improvement in areas
detected.
The State Auditor has raised concerns about this legislation.
Primarily, she notes that the duties outlined in this
legislation substantially overlap and directly duplicate the
activities of the BSA. The auditor cautions, "When the State
Auditor's Office was created, the Legislature was clear in its
intent to establish an independent office free from executive
and legislative control." Under this legislation, the
Inspector General would not be an independent office, it would
be a position appointed by the governor and approved by the
Senate, similar to other executive positions within the
administration.
3)Existing Office of the California Inspector General . The state
currently has an inspector general's office - with 147 PYs and
a $26 million budget. The mission of that office is to help
maintain the integrity of the state's correctional system - in
effect, to act as the eyes and ears of the public in
overseeing the state's prisons and correctional programs. The
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Office of the Inspector General carries out that mission by
investigating and auditing the California Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation to uncover criminal conduct,
administrative wrongdoing, poor management practices, waste,
fraud, and other abuses by staff, supervisors, and management.
The inspector general posts the findings of every audit and
special report on its website, along with quarterly summary
reports describing the number of audits and special reviews
completed, the types of misconduct uncovered, and the
disciplinary actions taken.
4)The Whistleblower Protection Act . This legislation directly
duplicates the language in the existing Whistleblower
Protection Act. That Act authorizes BSA to conduct
investigations in response to complaints received from state
employees, state agencies, and members of the public, or
initiated by the SA, into any potential improper governmental
activity by a state agency or employee, including
gubernatorial appointees, the California State University, the
University of California, and the State Compensation Fund.
5)Related Legislation . SB 887 (Hollingsworth) would create the
Office of the Chief Inspector General and would require him or
her to submit a proposed sunset date for all state programs,
departments and agencies to the Legislature. The Chief
Inspector General would be appointed by the governor and would
need to be confirmed by a two-thirds vote of both houses. The
term for the Chief Inspector General would be 12 years. That
bill is currently pending in the Senate Governmental
Organization committee.
Analysis Prepared by : Julie Salley-Gray / APPR. / (916)
319-2081