Amended in Assembly May 16, 2013

Amended in Assembly April 4, 2013

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1035

Introduced by Assembly Member Muratsuchi

February 22, 2013

An act to amend begin delete Section end delete begin insert Sections end insert 53895 begin insert and 53895.7 end insert of the Government Code, relating to local government.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1035, as amended, Muratsuchi. Local agencies: financial reports.

Existing law requires the Controller to annually compile and publish reports of the financial transactions of each county, city, and school district within the state, together with other matters he or she deems of public interest.

Existing law provides that an officer of a local agency who fails or refuses to make and file his or her financial report within 20 days after receipt of a written notice of the failure from the Controller forfeits to the state a specified amount depending on the amount of total revenue of that local agency. Existing law raises these amounts in the case of a community redevelopment agency and a joint powers agency that issues conduit revenue bonds in the 2nd begin delete and 3rd end delete consecutive year.

This bill would raise the forfeiture amounts for begin delete a joint powers agency to which existing law does not apply. The end delete begin insert all agencies. end insert

begin insert This end insert bill would begin insert , with respect to an agency that is not a joint powers agency that issues conduit revenue bonds, end insert double these fines if the agency fails to submit the report to the Controller for 2 consecutive begin delete years, and would triple end delete begin insert years. end insert

begin insert This bill would, for all agencies, triple end insert the fines if the agency fails to submit the report to the Controller for 3 begin insert or more end insert consecutive begin delete years, in which case end delete begin insert years. The bill would, for an agency that is not a joint powers agency that issues conduit revenue bonds, require end insert the Controller begin delete would be required end delete to conduct an independent audit report, the cost of which would be reimbursed by the agency. The bill would specify that an agency that makes a forfeiture or payment pursuant to the above provisions would still be responsible for filing the required financial report.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 53895 of the Government Code is
amended to read:

53895.  

(a) An officer of a local agency to which Section
53895.7 does not apply who fails or refuses to make and file his
or her report within 20 days after receipt of a written notice of the
failure from the Controller shall forfeit to the state:

(1) Two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500), in the case of
a local agency with total revenue, in the prior year, of less than
one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000), as reported in the
Controller’s annual financial reports.

(2) Five thousand five hundred dollars ($5,500) in the case of
a local agency with total revenue, in the prior year, of at least one
hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) but less than two hundred
fifty thousand dollars ($250,000), as reported in the Controller’s
annual financial reports.

(3) Ten thousand dollars ($10,000) in the case of a local agency
with total revenue, in the prior year, of at least two hundred fifty
thousand dollars ($250,000), as reported in the Controller’s annual
financial reports.

begin delete

(b) (1) Upon the request of the Controller, the Attorney General
shall prosecute an action for the forfeiture in the name of the people
of the State of California.

(2) Upon a satisfactory showing of good cause, the Controller
may waive the penalties for late filing provided in this section.

(c)

end delete

begin insert (b) end insert  If an officer of a local agency fails or refuses to make and
file his or her report within 20 days after receipt of a written notice
pursuant to subdivision (a) for two consecutive years, the begin insert officer
shall forfeit an amount that is double the amount of the end insert forfeiture
assessed pursuant to begin delete paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of end delete subdivision (a)
begin delete in the second year shall be doubled end delete .

begin delete

(d)

end delete

begin insert (c) end insert  If an officer of a local agency fails or refuses to make and
file his or her report within 20 days after receipt of a written notice
pursuant to subdivision (a) for three begin insert or more end insert consecutive years,
the forfeiture begin delete or fine end delete assessed pursuant to begin delete paragraphs (1), (2), and
(3) of end delete subdivision (a) begin delete in the third year end delete shall be tripled. In this case,
the Controller also shall conduct, or cause to be conducted, an
independent financial audit report. With respect to a joint powers
agency, the audit report shall be consistent with Section 6505. The
agency shall reimburse the Controller for the cost of complying
with this subdivision.

begin delete

(e) An agency that makes a

end delete

begin insert (d) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert A end insert forfeiture or payment begin insert made end insert pursuant to this section shall
begin delete still be required to end delete begin insert not relieve an agency of its obligation end insert file the
report required pursuant to Section 53891.

begin insert

(e) Upon the request of the Controller, the Attorney General
shall bring an action for the forfeiture in the name of the people
of the State of California.

end insert begin insert

(f) Upon satisfactory showing of good cause, the Controller
shall waive the forfeiture requirements of this section.

end insert

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 53895.7 of the end insert begin insert Government Code end insert begin insert is amended
to read: end insert

53895.7.  

(a) For the purpose of this section, “agency” means
any agency or entity formed pursuant to the Joint Exercise of
Powers Act (Article 1 (commencing with Section 6500) of Chapter
5 of Division 7 of Title 1) that issues conduit revenue bonds.

(b) An officer of an agency who fails or refuses to make and
file his or her report pursuant to this article within 20 days after
receipt of a written notice of the failure from the Controller shall
forfeit to the state:

(1)  begin delete One end delete begin insert Two end insert thousand begin insert five hundred end insert dollars begin delete ($1,000) end delete begin insert ($2,500) end insert
in the case of an agency with total revenue, in the prior year, of
less than one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000), as reported in
the Controller’s annual financial reports.

(2)  begin delete Two end delete begin insert Five end insert thousand five hundred dollars begin delete ($2,500) end delete begin insert ($5,500) end insert
in the case of an agency with total revenue, in the prior year, of at
least one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000), but less than two
hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000), as reported in the
Controller’s annual financial reports.

(3)  begin delete Five end delete begin insert Ten end insert thousand dollars begin delete ($5,000) end delete begin insert end insert begin insert ($10,000) end insert in the case of
an agency with total revenue, in the prior year, of at least two
hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000), as reported in the
Controller’s annual financial reports.

(c) An officer of an agency who fails or refuses to make and
file his or her report within 20 days after receipt of a written notice
of the failure from the Controller in the second begin delete or more consecutive end delete
year shall forfeit to the state:

(1)  begin delete Two end delete begin insert Five end insert thousand dollars begin delete ($2,000) end delete begin insert end insert begin insert ($5,000) end insert in the case of
an agency with total revenue, in the prior year, of less than one
hundred thousand dollars ($100,000), as reported in the Controller’s
annual financial reports.

(2)  begin delete Five end delete begin insert Eleven end insert thousand dollars begin delete ($5,000) end delete begin insert ($11,000) end insert in the case
of an agency with total revenue, in the prior year, of at least one
hundred thousand dollars ($100,000), but less than two hundred
fifty thousand dollars ($250,000), as reported in the Controller’s
annual financial reports.

(3)  begin delete Ten end delete begin insert Twenty end insert thousand dollars begin delete ($10,000) end delete begin insert end insert begin insert ($20,000) end insert in the case
of an agency with total revenue, in the prior year, of at least two
hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000), as reported in the
Controller’s annual financial reports.

(d) In the case of an agency that fails or refuses to make and
file its report within 20 days after receipt of a written notice of the
failure from the Controller begin delete in the third or more consecutive year,
the end delete begin insert for three or more consecutive years, the forfeiture amount shall
be triple the amount described in subdivision (b). The end insert Controller
shall conduct, or cause to be conducted, an independent financial
audit report consistent with the requirements of Section 6505. The
agency shall reimburse the Controller for the cost of complying
with this subdivision.

(e) (1) Upon the request of the Controller, the Attorney General
shall begin delete prosecute end delete begin insert bring end insert an action for the forfeiture in the name of
the people of the State of California.

(2) Upon a satisfactory showing of good cause, the Controller
begin delete may end delete begin insert shall end insert waive the begin delete penalties for late filing provided in end delete begin insert forfeiture
requirements of end insert this section.

(f)  begin delete An agency that makes a end delete begin insert A end insert forfeiture or payment begin insert made end insert
pursuant to this section shall begin delete still end delete begin insert end insert begin insert not relieve an agency of its
obligation to end insert file the report required pursuant to Section 53891.