Amended in Assembly July 3, 2013

Amended in Senate April 15, 2013

Senate Bill No. 486

Introduced by Senator DeSaulnier

(Coauthor: Senator Liu)

February 21, 2013

An act to add Chapter 1.5 (commencing with Section 13985) to Part 4.5 of Division 2 of Title 2 of the Government Code, relating to transportation.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 486, as amended, DeSaulnier. Office of begin delete Legal Compliance and Ethics. end delete begin insert Strategic Assessment and Accountability. end insert

Existing law establishes the Transportation Agency in state government with various duties and responsibilities.

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This bill would create, within the agency, the Office of Strategic Assessment and Accountability, under the direction of the Deputy Secretary for Strategic Assessment and Accountability, which would be responsible for ensuring the ongoing performance measurement, transparency, and public accountability of the Department of Transportation.

end insert begin insert

The bill would require the office to issue reports measuring the department’s success in meeting performance benchmarks identified by the Secretary of Transportation, in consultation with the Director of Transportation, and to compile and make these reports publicly available, including on the Internet Web site of the agency. The bill would require the secretary, on or before July 1, 2014, and not less than quarterly thereafter, to report to the California Transportation Commission on the department’s performance.

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This bill would create the Office of Legal Compliance and Ethics within the agency and require the director of the office to organize the office with the approval of the audit committee, as defined. The bill would vest the office with responsibility for, among other things, acting to prevent and detect serious breaches of Department of Transportation policy, and fraud, waste, and abuse within the department, including any acts of criminal conduct. The bill would require the office to conduct internal audits of the department, and would provide that the office have access to specified records and personnel, and other material necessary to conduct audits and investigations. The bill would require the director of the office to report quarterly, at a noticed public hearing of the commission, regarding performance of and activities related to investigations and to report annually to the Governor and the Legislature with a summary of his or her investigations. The bill would require the summary to be posted on the agency’s Internet Web site.

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The bill would require the director to provide information and evidence relating to criminal acts to the State Auditor’s office and appropriate law enforcement officials, and refer matters for further civil, criminal, and administrative action to appropriate administrative and prosecutorial agencies, including the Attorney General.

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

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

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begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert begin insert

(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:

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(1) The Department of Transportation, the largest entity of its
kind in the nation, is responsible for maintaining a complex
transportation system, including more than 50,000 state highway
lane miles, 12,600 bridges, and thousands of related facilities.

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(2) The department faces significant challenges in maintaining
this infrastructure, much of which is aging and in need of repair
or rehabilitation.

end insert begin insert

(3) In order for the department to effectively accomplish this
mission and to meet its strategic goals of improved safety,
enhanced mobility, efficient project delivery, effective stewardship,
and quality services, it must establish public trust, which requires
increased transparency, clear accountability, and effective
performance measurement.

end insert begin insert

(b) Therefore, it is the intent of the Legislature to establish an
office within the Transportation Agency to assist the department
in identifying or developing performance measurements that will
effectively assess the department’s progress toward its strategic
goals, and to ensure that this information is provided clearly and
transparently to the public on a regular basis.

end insert

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Chapter 1.5 (commencing with Section 13985) is added
to Part 4.5 of Division 2 of Title 2 of the end insert begin insert Government Code end insert begin insert , to
read: end insert

begin insert

 

Chapter   begin insert 1.5. end insert Office of Strategic Assessment and
Accountability

 

begin insert 13985. end insert   

For purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall
have the following meanings:

(a)  “Agency” means the Transportation Agency.

(b) “Commission” means the California Transportation
Commission.

(c)  “Department” means the Department of Transportation.

(d)  “Director” means the Director of Transportation.

(e)  “Office” means the Office of Strategic Assessment and
Accountability.

(f)  “Secretary” means the Secretary of the Transportation
Agency.

begin insert 13985.1. end insert   

(a)  There is hereby created, within the agency, the
Office of Strategic Assessment and Accountability, which shall be
responsible for ensuring the ongoing performance measurement,
transparency, and public accountability of the department. The
office shall be directed by the Deputy Secretary for Strategic
Assessment and Accountability, who shall report to the secretary.

(b)  The secretary, in consultation with the director, shall
identify the performance measurement benchmarks on which the
office shall report in the following areas:

(1)  Enhancement of public safety.

(2)  System preservation and rehabilitation.

(3)  Efficiency and cost-effectiveness of project delivery.

(c)  The office shall issue reports that measure the department’s
success in meeting, at a minimum, the performance measurement
benchmarks identified pursuant to subdivision (b). The office shall
compile and make publicly available, including on the Internet
Web site of the agency, the reports issued during each three-month
reporting period.

(d)  On or before July 1, 2014, and not less than quarterly
thereafter, the secretary shall report to the commission on the
department’s performance, based on the reports made by the office
pursuant to this section.

end insert

begin delete

SECTION 1.  

Chapter 1.5 (commencing with Section 13985)
is added to Part 4.5 of Division 2 of Title 2 of the Government
Code, to read:

 

Chapter  1.5. Office of Legal Compliance and Ethics

 

13985.  

(a) There is within the Transportation Agency an Office
of Legal Compliance and Ethics.

(b) As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
following meanings:

(1) “Agency” means the Transportation Agency.

(2) “Audit committee” means a committee comprised of the
commission and the secretary.

(3) “Commission” means the California Transportation
Commission.

(4) “Department” means the Department of Transportation.

(5) “Director” means the Director of the Office of Legal
Compliance and Ethics.

(6) “Office” means the Office of Legal Compliance and Ethics.

(7) “Secretary” means the Secretary of the Transportation
Agency.

13985.1.  

(a) For purposes of administration, the director shall
organize the office with the approval of the audit committee.

(b) The Governor shall appoint the director for a six-year term,
subject to advice and consent of the Senate. The director may not
be removed from office during that term, except for good cause.
The director shall report directly to the audit committee.

(c) The director shall be responsible for developing a proposed
budget for the office in consultation with the department and the
audit committee. Funding for the office shall come from savings
related to the reduction of staff in the Division of Audits and
Investigations within the department due to the division’s
transferred workload to the office.

(d) The director and office staff shall perform their duties and
functions in accordance with generally accepted audit standards
developed in consultation with the State Auditor.

(e) In the process of conducting audits and investigations, the
office shall have access to any and all department records to which
the Division of Audits and Investigations has access, including
information determined to be confidential and protected from
disclosure. The office shall have access to all employees,
contractors, subcontractors, and third-party books, records,
documents, and any other material necessary to conduct audits and
investigations. At the request of the office, copies of any records
or documents shall be provided.

13985.2.  

The office shall be responsible for all of the following
as they relate to the department:

(a) Acting to prevent and detect serious breaches of departmental
policy, fraud, waste, and abuse, including any acts of criminal
conduct within the department.

(b) Independently and objectively reviewing and investigating
conduct described by subdivision (a), including, but not limited
to, all of the following:

(1) Criminal activity in the department or committed on
department property.

(2) Allegations of wrongdoing by department employees.

(3) Serious breaches of department policy.

(4) Significant issues relevant to the effectiveness of the
department.

(c) Conducting internal audits of the department to identify
potential improvements in efficiency and performance.

(d) Ensuring that members of the commission and department
employees receive appropriate ethics training by recommending
appropriate ethics policies and periodically reporting to the
commission on the status of the department’s ethics training
program.

(e) Performing other duties assigned to the office by the audit
committee.

13985.3.  

(a) The director shall report quarterly, at a noticed
public hearing of the commission, regarding performance of and
activities related to investigations.

(b) The director shall report annually to the Governor and the
Legislature with a summary of his or her investigations. The
summary shall be posted on the agency’s Internet Web site and
shall otherwise be made available to the public upon its release to
the Governor and Legislature. The summary shall include, but
need not be limited to, significant problems discovered by the
office and whether recommendations of the office relative to
investigations have been implemented by the department. The
report shall be submitted pursuant to Section 9795 and is not
subject to the provisions of Section 10231.5.

13985.4.  

(a) The director shall provide information and
evidence relating to criminal acts to the state auditor’s office and
appropriate law enforcement officials.

(b) The director shall refer matters for further civil, criminal,
and administrative action to appropriate administrative and
prosecutorial agencies, including the Attorney General.

end delete