BILL NUMBER: AB 1345 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JANUARY 4, 2012
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 31, 2011
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Lara
FEBRUARY 18, 2011
An act to add Section 36514 to the Government Code,
relating to local government. An act to amend Section
12410.5 of, and to add Section 12410.6 to, the Government Code,
relating to audits.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1345, as amended, Lara. Local government: boards and
councils. Local government: audits.
(1) The federal Single Audit Act of 1984 requires any nonfederal
entity, defined as a state, local government, or nonprofit
organization, that accepts $300,000 or more in federal money to
prepare an annual audit that meets certain specifications and
transmit that audit to specified federal agencies. Existing law
requires the Controller to receive every audit report prepared by any
local public agency, pursuant to the federal Single Audit Act of
1984, review those reports for compliance with federal law before
forwarding them to the designated state agency.
This bill would require the annual audit reports made pursuant to
the federal Single Audit Act of 1984 to be submitted to the
Controller within 9 months after the end of the period audited or
pursuant to applicable federal or state law. This bill would
authorize the Controller to appoint a qualified certified public
accountant or public accountant to complete an audit report if a
local agency, as defined, fails to submit the audit report to the
Controller by the specified date. The bill would require the
Controller to report certain misconduct and nondisclosures to the
California Board of Accountancy.
(2) Existing law requires certain audits to be performed by
specified accountants and accounting firms.
This bill would require any audit for any local agency to be
performed by a certified public accountant or public accountant, as
specified. The bill would prohibit a local agency from employing
certain public accounting firms to perform an audit, as specified,
unless the Controller finds that another eligible public accounting
firm is not available to perform the audit.
Existing law provides that if a city council member is absent
without permission from the regular city council meetings for 60
consecutive days, that city council member's office becomes vacant
and must be filled by special election, as specified. Existing law
also specifies that a majority of the council constitutes a quorum
for transaction of business.
This bill would, in the event of the loss of a quorum of city
council members due to vacant seats on the city council, voluntarily,
by removal, of for some other legal reason, establish a city council
appointment committee consisting of any remaining city council
members, the city's chief administrative officer, a representative
from the county board of supervisors, and as many public members as
are required to meet the same number of city council members. The
city council appointment committee would be authorized to appoint
members to fill vacant seats on the city council, and those members
would serve the remainder of the term.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no
yes . State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 12410.5 of the
Government Code is amended to read:
12410.5. (a) The Controller shall receive
every audit report prepared for any local public
agency , as defined in Section 53890, in compliance with
the federal Single Audit Act of 1984 (P.L. 98-502; 31
(31 U.S.C. Sec. 7501 et seq.) and required under
any law to be submitted to any state agency, and shall, after
ascertaining its compliance with that federal act, transmit the
report to the designated state agency.
(b) The audit report shall be submitted to the Controller within
nine months after the end of the period audited or pursuant to
applicable federal or state law.
(c) An audit report for any local agency submitted to the
Controller pursuant to this section shall comply with the Government
Auditing Standards issued by the Comptroller General of the United
States.
(d) If a local agency does not submit the audit report required by
this section to the Controller by the due date established in
subdivision (b) of this section, the Controller may appoint a
qualified certified public accountant or public accountant to
complete the report and to obtain the information required. Any cost
incurred by the Controller pursuant to this subdivision, including a
contract with, or the employment of, the certified public accountant
or public accountant, in completing the audit shall be borne by the
local agency and shall be a charge against any unencumbered funds of
the local agency.
(e) If the Controller finds through a quality control review of
the audit working papers of the audit report made pursuant to this
section that the audit was conducted in a manner that constitutes
unprofessional conduct, as defined pursuant to Section 5100 of the
Business and Professions Code, or that there were multiple and
repeated failures to disclose noncompliant acts, the Controller shall
refer the case to the California Board of Accountancy.
SEC. 2. Section 12410.6 is added to the
Government Code , to read:
12410.6. (a) An audit for any local agency, including those
submitted to the Controller pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section
12410.5, shall be made by a certified public accountant or public
accountant, licensed by, and in good standing with, the California
Board of Accountancy.
(b) Commencing with the 2012-13 fiscal year, a local agency shall
not employ a public accounting firm to provide audit services to a
local agency if the lead audit partner or coordinating audit partner
having primary responsibility for the audit, or the audit partner
responsible for reviewing the audit, has preformed audit services for
that local agency for each of the six previous fiscal years. The
Controller may waive this requirement if he or she finds that another
eligible public accounting firm is not available to perform the
audit.
SECTION 1. Section 36514 is added to the
Government Code, to read:
36514. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that due to the
challenges facing a city when the city council is unable to establish
a quorum because members of the city council have been removed,
stepped down from office, or are unable to serve for another legal
reason and the city council is therefore unable to convene to conduct
the business of the city, a city council appointment committee is
necessary to appoint persons to serve the remainder of the terms for
those city council offices that are no longer represented.
(b) The city council appointment committee shall be created upon
the loss of an available quorum because seats on the city council are
vacated by voluntarily action, by removal, or because the members
are legally barred from serving. The committee shall consist of the
following persons:
(1) Any remaining city council members.
(2) The city's chief administrative officer or equivalent
executive officer.
(3) A county representative appointed by the member of the county
board of supervisors representing the city.
(4) The number of members of the public required to fillout the
remaining number of city council members. These members of the public
shall be selected by the persons listed in paragraphs (1) to (3),
inclusive. Any member of the public selected to serve on the
committee shall be a resident of the city.
(c) The city council appointment committee listed in paragraphs
(1) to (3), inclusive, of subdivisions (b) shall, within 90 days of
the date that a quorum of council members may not be met because of
the reasons in subdivision (b), appoint persons to serve as council
members as follows:
(1) Any appointee shall be a resident otherwise qualified to serve
on the city council.
(2) If the members of the city council are elected by districts or
from districts, any appointee shall be selected from the respective
city council district that is no longer represented by a council
member.
(3) Any appointee shall serve for the remainder of the term they
are appointed to serve.
(d) The city council appointment committee shall cease to exist
upon the swearing in of all of the newly appointed city council
members.
(e) The members of the city council appointment committee shall
not receive any salary or compensation for their service. This
section shall not prohibit the members of the city council
appointment committee from receiving salary or compensation for any
other position that a member holds in the city or the county.
(f) This section shall not apply to a charter city in the event
that the charter city has adopted a method for filling vacant city
council seats in the absence of a quorum.