BILL ANALYSIS Ó
Bill No: AB
1102
SENATE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION
Senator Roderick D. Wright, Chair
2011-2012 Regular Session
Bill Analysis
AB 1102 Author: Lara
As Amended: June 20, 2011
Hearing Date: June 28, 2011
Consultant: Paul Donahue
SUBJECT : State Auditor
SUMMARY : Revises the provisions governing the scope and
conduct of audits and surveys by the State Auditor, and
amends the Whistleblower Protection Act to expand the
definition of "improper governmental activities" and revise
other of its provisions.
Existing law :
1) Establishes the Bureau of State Audits (BSA), headed by
the State Auditor as an entity independent of the Executive
and Legislative branches of government. The State Auditor
is appointed by the Governor, from a list submitted by the
Joint Legislative Audit Committee, to a four-year term.
2) Provides for reimbursement of the State Auditor by
annual appropriation in the Budget Act, for specified costs
incurred by the State Auditor in the performance of certain
duties.
3) The California Whistleblower Protection Act (Act)
requires the State Auditor to administer the act and to
investigate and report on improper governmental activities.
4) Requires the State Auditor to establish a means of
submitting allegations of improper governmental activity
under the Act, and prohibits the State Auditor from
disclosing the identity of a person who provides
information that results in an investigation unless the
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person provides written permission to make that disclosure.
5) Authorizes the State Auditor to request the assistance
of any state department, agency, or employee in conducting
any investigation required by the Act.
6) Requires the State Auditor, if he or she determines that
an employee or agency has engaged in improper governmental
activity under the Act, to issue an investigative report
regarding that employee's specific activities, for purposes
of pursuing adverse action against that employee.
7) Requires the State Auditor to report the nature and
details of the activity to the head of the agency or the
appropriate appointing power, and authorizes the report to
include recommended actions to prevent the reoccurrence of
the activity.
8) Directs the State Auditor to prepare for state employees
a written explanation of the Act that includes specified
information.
9) Requires the State Auditor to provide a notice to state
agencies, as defined, that includes the information
contained in the written explanation, and prohibits state
agencies from modifying the text of the notice.
This bill :
1) Revises the provisions governing the scope and conduct
of audits and surveys by the State Auditor and costs for
which the State Audit Fund may be reimbursed to include the
cost of any other duties imposed on the BSA by statute
2) Prohibits the State Auditor from releasing any survey of
public employees that the State Auditor determines should
be kept confidential because the employees have expressed
fear of retaliation by their employer if they respond to
the survey.
3) Permits the State Auditor to audit and report on
statewide issues in addition to state agencies identified
as being at high risk for the potential of waste, fraud,
abuse, and mismanagement, or that has major challenges
associated with its economy, efficiency, or effectiveness.
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4) Authorizes the State Auditor to require state agencies
identified as responsible for all or a portion of a
statewide issue identified as high risk to periodically
report to the auditor regarding the status of
recommendations for improvement made by the State Auditor
or other state oversight agencies.
5) Expands the definition of "improper governmental
activity," the disclosure of which is protected under the
California Whistleblower Protection Act to include conduct
that:
a) Violates a state rule, directive, policy, or
procedure of general application, including an
executive order of the Governor, a California Rule of
Court, or a policy or procedure mandated by the State
Administrative Manual or State Contracting Manual; or
b) Is economically wasteful, involves significant
misconduct, including causes for employee discipline,
involves incompetency that reflects an absence of
qualification, ability, or fitness to perform a
prescribed duty or function, or involves inefficiency
that may adversely affect the state or members of the
public.
6) Clarifies that the State Auditor may request the
assistance of any state department, agency, or employee in
evaluating an allegation, of an improper governmental
activity as authorized by this article.
7) Specifies that, in the evaluation an allegation or
conducting an investigation of improper governmental
activity, a state agency or employee shall provide the
assistance, including, but not limited to, providing access
to documents or other information in a timely manner.
8) Provides that, as an alternative to conducting its own
investigation, if the State Auditor determines that there
is reasonable cause to believe that a state agency or
employee may have engaged in an improper governmental
activity, the State Auditor may refer the allegation to the
involved state agency, or to another state agency having
direct oversight of the involved state agency, to conduct
an investigation of the allegation under the State
Auditor's supervision.
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9) Provides that, if the State Auditor refers an allegation
to the involved state agency or to another state agency
having direct oversight of the involved state agency, that
state agency shall investigate the allegation and report
the results of the investigation to the State Auditor
within 60 days of the referral and monthly thereafter until
final action has been taken.
10) Specifies that if the State Auditor determines that
there is reasonable cause to believe that a state agency or
employee may have engaged in an improper governmental
activity, the State Auditor may refer the allegation to a
criminal or administrative law enforcement agency in lieu
of conducting or supervising an investigation of the
matter.
11) Additionally authorizes State Auditor to report the
findings of an investigation, and certain evidence to
support that finding, to additional state entities or
individuals, including the head of any other agency that
has direct oversight over the agency involved, a criminal
law enforcement agency, an administrative law enforcement
agency, or a licensing agency that has authority to
investigate the matter.
12) Includes the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, superior
courts, and the Administrative Office of the Courts within
the definition of state agency under the Whistleblower
Protection Act.
13) Requires any agency that advertises the opportunity to
submit whistleblower complaints through a program run by
the agency to additionally disclose the opportunity to
submit complaints to the State Auditor under the Act.
COMMENTS :
1) Purpose of the bill : The author states that AB 1102
clarifies and cleans up the statutes relating to the
functions of the State Auditor and the Bureau of State
Audits.
2) Related legislation :
AB 187 (Lara, 2011) expands the State Auditor's high risk
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government agency audit program to include local
governments at high risk for waste, fraud, abuse, or
mismanagement. (On calendar today in this Committee)
AB 567 (Villines) Chapter 452, Statutes of 2009 revised the
California Whistleblower Protection Act to broaden the
class of employees covered by the Act, expanded the
definition of "improper governmental activity" that could
be reported by a whistleblower, and permits the State
Auditor to publicly report on recommendations made to heads
of state agencies that have not been fully implemented
after one year.
SB 1437 (Speier) Chapter 251, Statutes of 2004 authorized
the State Auditor to establish a high-risk government
agency audit program for the purpose of identifying,
auditing, and issuing reports on any state agency that the
auditor identifies as high risk for the potential of waste,
fraud, abuse, and mismanagement, or that has major
challenges associated with its economy, efficiency, or
effectiveness.
SUPPORT:
Elaine Howle, California State Auditor (sponsor)
OPPOSE:
None on file.
FISCAL COMMITTEE: Senate Appropriations Committee
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