BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1102|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1102
Author: Lara (D)
Amended: 8/29/11 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION COMM. : 9-4, 6/28/11
AYES: Wright, Calderon, Corbett, De León, Evans,
Hernandez, Padilla, Wyland, Yee
NOES: Anderson, Berryhill, Cannella, Strickland
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 51-26, 5/23/11 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : State Auditor
SOURCE : Elaine Howle, California State Auditor
DIGEST : This bill 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.
Senate Amendments of 8/29/11 make technical and clarifying
changes.
ANALYSIS : Existing law :
1. Establishes the Bureau of State Audits (BSA), headed by
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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. Authorizes and provides access to the State Auditor and
his/her authorized representatives to examine and
reproduce various records of any agency of the state.
4. The California Whistleblower Protection Act (Act)
requires the State Auditor to administer the act and to
investigate and report on improper governmental
activities.
5. 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
person provides written permission to make that
disclosure.
6. Authorizes the State Auditor to request the assistance
of any state department, agency, or employee in
conducting any investigation required by the Act.
7. Requires the State Auditor, if he/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.
8. 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.
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9. Directs the State Auditor to prepare for state
employees a written explanation of the Act that includes
specified information.
10.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.
2. Adds a definition of confidentiality of records or
property, and would provide that providing confidential
information to the State Auditor, including information
subject to a privilege, does not constitute a waiver of
that privilege. This bill states that these changes are
declaratory of existing law.
3. Prohibits the State Auditor from disclosing the identity
of the person who provides information that result in an
investigation without obtaining the person's express
permission.
4. Revises the definition of improper governmental
activities to include more activities, including actions
that are a violation of a state rule, directive, policy,
or procedure of general application.
5. Expands that authorization to also authorize the State
Auditor to request assistance evaluating an allegation
or conducting any investigation of an improper
governmental activity as authorized by the Act.
6. Revises those provisions to also authorize the State
Auditor to report the findings of an investigation, and
certain evidence to support that finding, to additional
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
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agency that has authority to investigate the matter.
7. Provides that, as an alternative to conducting its own
investigation, the State Auditor is authorized to, if
the State Auditor makes a certain finding on an
allegation of improper governmental activities, refer an
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.
Authorizes the State Auditor to refer an allegation to a
criminal or administrative law enforcement agency.
8. Conforms the definition of state agency to the
definition used in the California Whistleblower
Protection Act, to include the Supreme Court, Court of
Appeal, superior courts, and the Administrative Office
of the Courts.
9. Requires any agency that posts or advertises the
opportunity to submit whistleblower complaints through a
program administered by the agency, to also disclose the
opportunity to submit complaints to the State Auditor
under the California Whistleblower Protection Act.
10.Deletes various obsolete provisions of law.
Related Legislation
AB 567 (Villines), Chapter 452, Statutes of 2009, revises
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, authorizes
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
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challenges associated with its economy, efficiency, or
effectiveness.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/29/11)
Elaine Howle, California State Auditor (source)
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The author's office states that
this bill clarifies and cleans up the statutes relating to
the functions of the State Auditor and the Bureau of State
Audits.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 51-26, 5/23/11
AYES: Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Block,
Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan,
Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos, Carter, Cedillo,
Chesbro, Davis, Dickinson, Eng, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes,
Furutani, Galgiani, Gatto, Gordon, Hall, Hayashi, Roger
Hernández, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Lara, Bonnie
Lowenthal, Mendoza, Mitchell, Monning, Pan, Perea, V.
Manuel Pérez, Portantino, Skinner, Solorio, Swanson,
Torres, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez
NOES: Achadjian, Bill Berryhill, Conway, Donnelly,
Fletcher, Beth Gaines, Garrick, Grove, Hagman, Halderman,
Harkey, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Logue, Mansoor, Miller,
Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Silva, Smyth,
Valadao, Wagner
NO VOTE RECORDED: Cook, Gorell, Ma
PQ:do 8/29/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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