BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1235
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Date of Hearing: May 15, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
AB 1235 (Gordon) - As Introduced: February 22, 2013
Policy Committee: Local
GovernmentVote:7-2
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill requires, if a local agency provides any type of
compensation, salary or stipend to a member of a legislative
body or provides reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses
incurred by a member of a legislative body in the performance of
official duties, then all local agency officials to receive
training in financial management. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires each local agency official to receive at least four
hours of training in general financial management principles
and financial management laws relevant to his or her public
service once per term of office.
2)Requires a local agency, whose local agency officials are
required to complete the financial management training
prescribed by this bill, to maintain records indicating the
dates that local officials satisfied the training
requirements, and the entity that provided the training.
These records must be maintained for at least five years after
local officials receive the training. These records are
public records subject to disclosure under the California
Public Records Act.
FISCAL EFFECT
Possible state reimbursable costs in the range of $150,000. For
most local governments, those payments are a choice, not a
matter of legal requirement, so this bill will not be a
reimbursable state mandate for them. In addition, many of the
special districts that would be subject to the bill's provisions
are not eligible for reimbursement as they do not receive
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property tax. This bill is a reimbursable mandate for certain
local governments, however, specifically the 44 general law
counties and certain special districts that are required by
state law to pay compensation or reimburse for expenses.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose . According to the author's office, one of the primary
responsibilities of any local official is the responsible
management of public agency finances. But in order to
properly manage public funds, an official must understand the
complex and often unstable world of local agency financing.
The author notes there are hundreds of rules and regulations
designed to protect the taxpayer, which the average citizen
may not be familiar with or fully understand, among them the
reliability and restricted use of various revenue streams, the
appropriations (Gann) limit and the bond restrictions. The
author concludes even a new local official may be more
familiar with the service needs in their community than the
financial constraints of the local agency in meeting those
needs.
2)Support . The California Special Districts Association (CSDA)
notes fiscal responsibility in public agencies is paramount.
As the task of governing these agencies has become even more
complex, regulated and costly, it has become increasingly
important to demonstrate to the public that local agencies are
appropriately managed, according to CSDA.
3)Opposition . The League of California Cities, in opposition,
states the policy assumption behind the bill appears to be
city officials are not receiving sufficient training on
financial matters. The Leagues points to a training workshop
they held in January where 440 newly elected council members
gathered in Sacramento for an annual three-day training that
included a 2.5 hour workshop titled: 'Financial
Responsibilities, City Revenues Workshop." They also note
they host many conferences and educational seminars each year,
including financial topics.
4)Background . Current law requires two hours of ethics training
for local government officials and designated employees every
two years. This bill establishes similar requirements for
training in financial management. The author's office notes
that financial training courses are offered by the Institute
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for Local Government (ILG) and the California State
Association of Counties (CSAC) Institute.
5)Scope of bill . This bill would not appear to apply to charter
cities, charter counties and charter cities and counties. The
bill does not contain any findings of statewide significance,
which is evidence the bill is meant to apply to charter local
governments.
Analysis Prepared by : Roger Dunstan / APPR. / (916) 319-2081