BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 779
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB
779 (Cristina Garcia)
As Amended August 3, 2016
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: | |(June 3, 2015) |SENATE: |30-8 |(August 15, |
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(vote not relevant)
Original Committee Reference: TRANS.
SUMMARY: Requires cities, counties and special districts to
compile compensation information about their elected officials
and post it on their Web sites (websites).
The Senate amendments delete the prior contents of the bill and
add the current language.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
COMMENTS:
AB 779
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1)Bill Summary. This bill requires cities, counties and special
districts, on or before April 30 of each year, to post
compensation information in a conspicuous location on their
Internet websites. The compensation information must contain
the names, positions, and total compensation, including a
breakdown of the types of compensation provided, of each
elected official within that entity for the previous calendar
year. If a city or special district does not have an Internet
website, it shall compile this information and make that
information readily available upon request.
This bill defines "total compensation" to include payments for
salaries, overtime, unused vacation time, stipends, pension
contributions, retirement contributions, health premium
contributions, automobile allowances, phone allowances, and
technology allowances. Any other type of compensation that a
city, county, or special district provides shall also be
included and specified. "Total compensation" does not include
reimbursements or payments for work-related travel expenses.
The bill does not apply to school districts.
This bill is sponsored by the author.
2)Author's Statement. According to the author, "People have a
right to know how much their elected officials are paid. By
featuring the compensation information on local websites,
residents will have better access to this information. AB 779
requires the breakdown of all types of compensation to be
posted. This full reporting will add needed transparency.
For example, a recent newspaper investigation reported the
city of Maywood was paying officials and some employees $250
monthly mileage stipends. It's unclear how such a payment
could be justified, as the city is just larger than one square
mile.
"Unfortunately, abuses like those that occurred in the city of
Bell and other local governments are still occurring.
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Currently, the SCO [State Controller's Office] posts local
entity's salary information by position, but does not include
names. While the SCO posts break down some compensation, they
also include an 'other' category. Something like a mileage
stipend, mentioned above, would fall in this 'other'
category."
3)Background. The State Controller must compile and publish
reports of the financial transactions of local governments,
including counties, cities, special districts, and joint
powers authorities. These reports must also state the annual
compensation of a local agency's elected officials, officers,
and employees in accordance with reporting instructions
developed by the Controller. The Controller must make these
reports, including compensation data, available on its website
in a form that can be printed and downloaded. Local agencies
that maintain a website must post the report and the
compensation information, or a link to the report on the
Controller's website, in a conspicuous location.
The Controller's instructions define compensation to include
salaries, overtime pay, lump sum pay, pension contributions,
health/vision/dental benefits, deferred compensation
contributions, and any other compensation (such as automobile
allowances). Local agencies must compile this information for
each employee, who is identified by their classification,
including whether the employee held multiple positions. Local
agencies must submit this information for the previous
calendar year no later than April 30th.
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
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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.
4)Previous Legislation. AB 2040 (Garcia), Chapter 894, Statutes
of 2014, required local agency financial transaction reports
to include information about the annual compensation of the
local agency's elected officials, officers, and employees,
required local agencies to post this information on their
websites, and required the Controller to compile, publish, and
make this information publicly available on the Controller's
website.
5)Support Arguments. The California League of Conservation
Voters and Sierra Club California, in support, state, "We are
pleased to support AB 779, which increases local government
transparency and helps residents easily find information about
their local officials' compensation. Scandals in Bell and
Vernon concerning pay for elected officials highlight the need
for more transparency about who is paid what, in order to
prevent the misuse of taxpayer dollars. ?This information
will allow residents to better understand the amounts and
types of compensation that these officials receive. Some
local government entities already post this information
prominently on their websites. Also, some California news
organizations and interest groups currently request, compile,
and post local government compensation on their websites.
However, the amount of information varies by entity and
region, and what is available can be difficult to find."
6)Opposition Arguments. The League of California Cities, in
opposition, writes, "Current law already requires local
agencies to report the compensation of their government boards
as well as all employees to the California State Controller.
These reports include the following items requested in AB 779
in the compilation of total compensation: stipends, automobile
allowance, technology allowance, phone allowance, pension
contributions, retirement contributions, health premiums, and
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any other type of compensation. AB 779 differs only in
specifically requesting that unused vacation time be reported
and that the different compensation categories be broken out.
"This measure requires a new duplicative report to be posted
on agencies' websites although current law (Government Code
Section 53901) already requires compensation reports to be
posted in a conspicuous location on agencies' websites. We
believe that existing forms and instructions are sufficient to
accommodate the intent of this measure without requiring
duplicative reporting and posting."
7)Gut and Amend. The subject matter of this bill has not been
heard in any Assembly policy committee this legislative
session.
Analysis Prepared by:
Angela Mapp / L. GOV. / (916) 319-3958 FN:
0003925