BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 779|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 779
Author: Cristina Garcia (D)
Amended: 8/3/16 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE GOVERNANCE & FIN. COMMITTEE: 7-0, 6/29/16
AYES: Hertzberg, Nguyen, Beall, Hernandez, Lara, Moorlach,
Pavley
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 77-1, 6/3/15 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Local government: financial disclosures
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill requires local agencies to post the names and
total compensation of elected officials on their Web sites.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Requires the State Controller to compile and publish reports
of the financial transactions of local governments, including
counties, cities, special districts, and joint powers
authorities.
AB 779
Page 2
2)Requires these annual reports to state the annual compensation
of a local agency's elected officials, officers, and employees
in accordance with reporting instructions developed by the
Controller.
3)Requires the Controller to make these reports, including
compensation data, available on its Web site in a form that
can be printed and downloaded.
4)Requires local agencies that maintain a Web site to post the
report and the compensation information, or a link to the
report on the Controller's Web site, in a conspicuous
location.
This bill:
1)Requires, on or before April 30 of each year, a city, county,
city and county, or special district to post in a conspicuous
location on their Web site information that contains the
names, positions, and total compensation of each elected
official for the previous calendar year.
2)Requires a city, county, city and county, or special district
that does not have a Web site to compile this information and
make it readily available upon request.
3)Defines total compensation to include the aggregate of
payments for salaries, overtime, unused vacation, stipends,
pension contributions, retirement contributions, health
premium contributions, automobile allowances, phone
allowances, technology allowances, and any other type of
compensation provided.
4)Excludes reimbursements or payments for work-related travel
expenses from the definition of compensation under this bill.
AB 779
Page 3
Background
In recent years, several small cities in Los Angeles County have
come under scrutiny for their compensation practices. In
particular, beginning in July 2010, a series of news reports
revealed that City of Bell officials received some of the
highest salaries in the nation, topping $700,000 annually.
These revelations led to further inquiries into financial
irregularities that culminated with convictions for the former
mayor, four former city councilmembers, the city administrator,
and the assistant city administrator. More recently, City of
Maywood officials drew criticism in May 2016 for receiving
automobile stipends of $250/month, even though the city is the
second smallest in the county and covers approximately one
square mile. Troubled by these abuses, some advocates for open
government want local agencies to post additional information
about local elected officials' compensation on their Web site.
Comments
1)Purpose of the bill. Exorbitant employee compensation
undermines the public's faith that taxpayer dollars are being
put to the best use. But without adequate information on
compensation, it is difficult to identify and hold accountable
those who are being overpaid. The average citizen is unlikely
to think of the State Controller's Office Web site when
looking for local government compensation information; logic
leads them to look on the local government's Web site. And
even if a taxpayer can find the right Web site, it can be
difficult to tie compensation to specific individuals. AB 779
helps Californians to easily find information about their
local elected officials to hold them accountable. Matching
the level of compensation with names and breaking out parts of
compensation (such as car allowances) makes it easier to
identify egregious compensation practices. The California
Legislature already posts names and salaries for all its
employees; AB 779 ensures that local governments take small
steps in a similar direction.
AB 779
Page 4
2)Redundant. State law already requires local governments to
provide exhaustive information on the compensation of its
elected officials to the State Controller's Office, which then
posts the information in an accessible format. Local agencies
must also include a prominent link to that information on
their Web site, either by posting the information themselves
or pointing the user to the Controller's Web site. AB 779
requires local governments to post similar information on
their Web sites. If there are concerns with the transparency
afforded by the Controller's compensation reports, it makes
sense to address those deficiencies instead of creating costly
and duplicative requirements.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: Yes
SUPPORT: (Verified8/10/16)
California League of Conservation Voters
Sierra Club California
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/10/16)
California Special Districts Association
Rural County Representatives of California
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 77-1, 6/3/15
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bonilla, Bonta, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau,
Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly,
Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina
Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray,
Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones,
Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low,
AB 779
Page 5
Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin,
Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Perea,
Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago,
Steinorth, Mark Stone, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk,
Williams, Wood, Atkins
NOES: Gatto
NO VOTE RECORDED: Brough, Thurmond
Prepared by:Anton Favorini-Csorba / GOV. & F. / (916) 651-4119
8/10/16 15:45:21
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