BILL NUMBER: SB 486 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JULY 3, 2013
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 15, 2013
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 Legal
Compliance and Ethics. Strategic Assessment and
Accountability.
Existing law establishes the Transportation Agency in state
government with various duties and responsibilities.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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. (a) The Legislature finds and declares
all of the following:
(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.
(2) The department faces significant challenges in maintaining
this infrastructure, much of which is aging and in need of repair or
rehabilitation.
(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.
(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.
SEC. 2. Chapter 1.5 (commencing with Section 1
3985) is added to Part 4.5 of Division 2 of Title 2 of the
Government Code , to read:
CHAPTER 1.5. OFFICE OF STRATEGIC ASSESSMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY
13985. 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.
13985.1. (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.
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.