BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1102
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1102 (Lara)
As Amended April 27, 2011
Majority vote
BUSINESS & PROFESSIONS 6-3 APPROPRIATIONS 12-4
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|Ayes:|Hayashi, Allen, Butler, |Ayes:|Fuentes, Blumenfield, |
| |Eng, Hill, Ma | |Bradford, Charles |
| | | |Calderon, Campos, Davis, |
| | | |Gatto, Hall, Hill, Lara, |
| | | |Mitchell, Solorio |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Bill Berryhill, Hagman, |Nays:|Harkey, Nielsen, Norby, |
| |Smyth | |Wagner |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Clarifies the authority of the State Auditor (SA) to
conduct audits of the judiciary, and includes all Bureau of
State Audits' (BSA) costs under their continuous appropriation
authority. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires that the costs of other statutory duties imposed on
BSA be appropriated to the State Audit Fund (Fund), and
redefines "cost of audits or any other duties" to mean all
direct and indirect costs of conducting the audits or other
duties, and any other expenses incurred by the SA in
fulfilling statutory responsibilities.
2)Requires that any survey of public employees that the SA
determines should be kept confidential be kept private if
employees express fear of retaliation by their employer for
responding.
3)Authorizes the SA to issue audit reports for statewide issues
and to require state agencies to report to the SA regarding
statewide issues identified as high-risk.
4)Expands the SA's audit authority to include the judiciary and
the California State University (CSU) by redefining the term
"state agency" to mean every state office, officer,
department, division, bureau, board, and commission, CSU, the
AB 1102
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Supreme Court, a Court of Appeal, a superior court, and the
Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC).
5)Repeals obsolete provisions.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Sets forth the duties and powers of BSA and makes reference to
audits and investigative audits.
2)Prohibits the SA or his or her employees from releasing to the
public, among other things, any papers, correspondence, or any
substantive information pertaining to any audit not completed.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, no significant costs associated with this
legislation.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "This bill was requested as
a general clean-up and omnibus bill for SA and BSA. Every two
years, the Chair of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee (JLAC)
introduces a bill to clarify and clean up any code sections
pertaining to the SA and the SA's functions."
The SA is the state's independent external auditor that provides
independent, nonpartisan, accurate, and timely assessments of
California government's financial and operational activities in
compliance with generally accepted government auditing
standards. BSA will conduct audits or investigations to
evaluate whether the auditee is acting in compliance with
existing law. BSA audits originate from within BSA, the Joint
Legislative Audit Committee (JLAC), or legislation, and BSA
investigations originate from complaints from state employees or
the public.
The author has submitted the following reasons for amending
existing law related to BSA:
1)The Fund receives continuous appropriations from the General
Fund and special fund money to cover BSA expenditures. The
author claims that Legislative Counsel has begun regarding new
state-mandated, non-audit duties as making an appropriation
and subject to a two-thirds vote requirement. This bill
eliminates the two-thirds vote requirement on bills imposing
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new, non-audit duties on the SA by specifying that those costs
will be appropriated in the annual Budget Act.
2)BSA often surveys employees of public agencies that are
audited or investigated. Some employees have hesitated to
complete a survey out of fear of employee retaliation. This
bill would authorize the SA to keep such surveys confidential.
3)BSA develops its audit workload from three principal sources:
JLAC, statutory mandates, and the SA under the high-risk audit
program. This bill clarifies that the SA audits under the
high-risk audit program can include statewide issues.
4)The Office of the Auditor General (OAG) preceded BSA, and any
references to OAG are obsolete. This bill repeals obsolete
sections relating to the OAG.
5)The provisions relating to the completion of BSA's single
audit of financial statements prepared by the executive branch
are obsolete. This bill repeals obsolete sections relating
to the single audit.
This bill clarifies the SA's audit authority to conduct audits
of the judiciary and CSU by redefining the term "state agency"
to include CSU, the Supreme Court, a Court of Appeal, a superior
court, and AOC. Recent audits of the trial courts' construction
costs and scrutiny over CSU expenditures have prompted a need to
clarify BSA's role and ability to conduct audits of those
entities.
Analysis Prepared by : Joanna Gin / B.,P. & C.P. / (916)
319-3301
FN: 0000602