BILL ANALYSIS Ó
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
SB 921 (Lieu)
Hearing Date: 8/25/2011 Amended: 8/17/2011
Consultant: Maureen Ortiz Policy Vote: VA:7-0 Jud: 4-0
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BILL SUMMARY: SB 921, an urgency measure, requires the Governor
to appoint an Inspector General who will oversee, but operate
independently from, the Military Department.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 Fund
Inspector General position --------potentially
minor--------- General
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STAFF COMMENTS: SUSPENSE FILE. .
SB 921 requires the Governor to appoint the inspector general,
subject to Senate confirmation. The bill requires the funding
for the position to come from the existing budget of the
Military Department, and for the department to provide the
office space and support personnel. The Military Department
indicates costs of $200,000 for the Inspector General (IG),
$139,000 for a Captain, and $65,000 for one office technician -
each including salary and benefits; and an additional $59,000
annually for travel, training, and other administrative costs.
According to the author, the intent of SB 921 is not to create a
second IG position, but that the Inspector General position
which already exists at the Military Department will be used,
only the position will be appointed by and report to the
Governor, thereby changing the existing chain-of-command.
The duties of the Inspector General (IG) will include
establishing a toll-free public telephone number to receive
complaints and allegations. The number must be posted in clear
view at every California National Guard armory, flight facility,
airfield or installation. The IG will be authorized to
investigate any of the following:
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a) Complaints that the Adjutant General or the Assistant
Adjutant General has engaged in discrimination or retaliation
for whistleblowing,
b) Allegations of misconduct by the Adjutant General or the
Assistant Adjutant General,
c) Allegations of misconduct by any member of the California
National Guard.
Any investigation conducted at the request of a member of the
California Legislature, will be followed-up with a report of his
or her findings of that investigation.
SB 921 provides that any investigation requests made by the
Governor, a member of the Legislature, the Adjutant General, or
any member of the public is not a public record and will not be
subject to disclosure under the California Public Records Act,
and the requestor's name will remain confidential. The bill
also requires disciplinary action be taken against any employee
who retaliates against a person who makes a complaint or
allegation of wrongdoing.
All California State Military Department State Civil Service
(SCS) employees and State Active Duty (SAD) and State Military
Reserve (SMR) personnel have the right to present complaints or
requests for assistance to the state Inspector General about
possible regulatory or procedural violations concerning
unresolved personnel actions.
Currently, the IG of the Military Department reports directly to
the Adjutant General (AG). Consequently, any complaints of
wrongdoing on the part of the AG are ultimately submitted to the
AG. The California Whistleblower Protection Act provides that
state employees should be free to report waste, fraud, abuse of
authority, violation of law, or threat to public health without
fear of retribution. Additionally, existing law (Gov. Code
Section 8547.5(b)) authorizes the State Auditor to investigate
information received that any employee or state agency has
engaged in an improper governmental activity.
SB 921 exempts from disclosure under the California Public
Records Act, any complaints and allegations regarding
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misconduct, discrimination and retaliation made by service
members against the Adjutant General or Assistant Adjutant
General and allegations of misconduct by any member of the
California National Guard.
This bill is in response to recent media investigations exposing
financial and management misconduct involving the Adjutant
General. Among other allegations, on April 23, 2011, the
Sacramento Bee reported that Major General William H. Wade II,
Adjutant General until 2010, collected dual pay from the state
and federal government for the same days of work.
SB 921 further provides that in addition to all other causes of
action, penalties, or other remedies provided by law, any state
officer or employee who intentionally engages in acts of
reprisal, retaliation, threats, or coercion against an employee
for having disclosed a complaint or allegation shall be liable
in an action for damages brought against him or her by the
injured party. If the offending party is proven to be
malicious, the court may award punitive damages.
This bill is similar to AB 2620 (Umberg) which was held on this
committee's Suspense file in 2006, and to AB 1445 (Umberg) held
on the Assembly Appropriations Committee Suspense file in 2005.