Amended in Assembly May 5, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 341

Introduced by Assembly Member Achadjian

February 13, 2015

An act to amend begin delete Section 53891 end delete begin insert Sections 12463, 53891, and 53893 end insert of the Government Code, relating to local government.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 341, as amended, Achadjian. Financial affairs: reports.

Existing law requires the officer of each local agency, who has charge of the financial records of the local agency, to furnish to the Controller a report of all the financial transactions of the local agency during the next preceding fiscal year within 90 days of the close of each fiscal year, or within 110 days if the report is furnished in an electronic format. begin insert Existing law requires the report to include, among other things, the annual compensation of a local agency’s elected officials, officers, and employees, as specified. end insert

This bill would require the report to contain underlying data from audited financial statements, as specified, if this data is available. This bill would extend the amount of time in which the report is required to be furnished to the Controller from 90 days to begin delete 180, days and from 110 days to 210 days. end delete begin insert seven months. The bill would also require information regarding the annual compensation of a local agency’s elected officials, officers, and employees, as specified, to be submitted to the controller no later than April 30th after the end of the calendar year. end insert

begin insert

Existing law requires the Controller to, among other things, compile and publish reports of the financial transactions of each county, city, and special district, as specified, on or before August 1, September 1, and October 1, respectively, of each year.

end insert begin insert

This bill would instead require the Controller to compile and publish reports of the financial transactions of each county, city, and special district on or before November 1 of each year.

end insert

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

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

begin delete

SECTION 1.  

(a) The Legislature finds and declares that the
existing timelines between the close of the fiscal year and the
requirement for local agencies to submit financial transaction
reports to the Controller within 90 or 110 days are often insufficient
to ensure the required audits of this data have been completed.
Submitting incomplete or unaudited data can create confusion for
the public and additional work for both the State Controller’s office
and the local agency staff to update information to reflect final
audits.

(b) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this act to adjust
the existing timelines described in subdivision (a) so that local
agencies have sufficient time to ensure that local financial
transaction reports submitted to the Controller and published online
by the Controller reflect final audited data. By making these
changes, it is the intent of the Legislature to improve the quality
of information provided to the public.

end delete

begin insert

begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 12463 of the end insert begin insert Government Code end insert begin insert is
amended to read: end insert

12463.  

(a) The Controller shall compile, publish, and make
publicly available on the Controller’s Internet Web site, in a format
that may be printed and downloaded, reports of the financial
transactions and information on annual compensation, consistent
with subdivision (l) of Section 53892, of each county, city, and
special district, respectively, within this state, together with any
other matter he or she deems of public interest. The reports shall
include the appropriations limits and the total annual appropriations
subject to limitation of the counties, cities, and special districts.
The reports to the Controller shall be made in the begin delete time, form, end delete begin insert form end insert
and manner prescribed by the Controller.

(b)  begin delete Effective January 1, 2005, the end delete begin insert The end insert Controller shall compile
and publish reports of the financial transactions of each county,
city, and special district pursuant to subdivision (a) on or before
begin delete August 1, September 1, and October 1 respectively, end delete begin insert November 1 end insert
of each year following the end of the annual reporting period. The
Controller shall make data collected pursuant to this subdivision
available upon request to the Legislature and its agents, on or
before April 1 of each year.

(c) The Controller shall annually publish, on the Internet Web
site of the Controller, reports of the financial transactions of each
school district within this state, together with any other matter he
or she deems of public interest. The reports shall include the
appropriations limit and the total annual appropriations subject to
limitation of the school district. The reports to the Controller shall
be made in the time, form, and manner prescribed by the Controller.

(d) As used in this section, the following terms have the
following meanings:

(1) “School district” means a school district as defined in Section
80 of the Education Code.

(2) “Special district” means any of the following:

(A) A special district as defined in Section 95 of the Revenue
and Taxation Code.

(B) A commission provided for by a joint powers agreement
pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 6500) of Division
7 of Title 1.

(C) A nonprofit corporation that is any of the following:

(i) Was formed in accordance with the provisions of a joint
powers agreement to carry out functions specified in the agreement.

(ii) Issued bonds, the interest on which is exempt from federal
income taxes, for the purpose of purchasing land as a site for, or
purchasing or constructing, a building, stadium, or other facility,
that is subject to a lease or agreement with a local public entity.

(iii) Is wholly owned by a public agency.

SEC. 2.  

Section 53891 of the Government Code is amended
to read:

53891.  

(a) The officer of each local agency who has charge
of the financial records shall furnish to the Controller a report of
all the financial transactions of the local agency during the begin delete next end delete
preceding fiscal year. The report shall contain underlying data
from audited financial statements prepared in accordance with
generally accepted accounting principles, if this data is available.
The report shall be furnished within begin delete 180 days end delete begin insert seven months end insert after
the close of each fiscal year and shall be in the form required by
the Controller. begin delete If the report is filed in electronic format as
prescribed by the Controller, the report shall be furnished within
210 days after the close of each fiscal year. However, whenever
a local agency files annual financial materials with the Office of
Statewide Health Planning and Development or any successor
thereto pursuant to Section 128735 of the Health and Safety Code,
the audited report shall be furnished within 120 days after the close
of each fiscal year. Further, whenever a community redevelopment
agency files an annual report with the Controller pursuant to
Section 33080 of the Health and Safety Code, the report shall be
furnished within six months of the end of the agency’s fiscal year. end delete
begin insert A local agency shall submit to the Controller information on annual
compensation, as described in subdivision (l) of Section 53892,
for the previous calendar year no later than April 30th. end insert

(b) The Controller shall prescribe uniform accounting and
reporting procedures that shall be applicable to all local agencies
except cities, counties, and school districts, and except for local
agencies that substantially follow a system of accounting prescribed
by the Public Utilities Commission of the State of California or
the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The procedures shall
be adopted under Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340)
of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2. The Controller shall prescribe
the procedures only after consultation with and approval of a local
governmental advisory committee established pursuant to Section
12463.1. Approval of the procedures shall be by majority vote of
the members present at a meeting of the committee called by the
chairperson thereof.

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 3. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 53893 of the end insert begin insert Government Code end insert begin insert is amended to
read: end insert

53893.  

Upon the completion of the report the legislative body
shall begin insert either post it in a conspicuous location on its Internet Web
site, or end insert cause copies of the report to be prepared and the clerk of
the legislative body shall furnish a copy to any person requesting
it. A charge not to exceed twenty-five cents ($0.25) for each copy
may be imposed.