BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 779
Page 1
GOVERNOR'S VETO
AB
779 (Cristina Garcia)
As Amended September 8, 2016
2/3 vote
--------------------------------------------------------------------
|ASSEMBLY: | |(June 3, 2015) |SENATE: |30-8 |(August 15, |
| | | | | |2016) |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
--------------------------------------------------------------------
(vote not relevant)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
|COMMITTEE VOTE: | 8-0 |(August 25, |RECOMMENDATION: |concur |
| | |2016) | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
----------------------------------------------------------------------
(L. Gov.)
--------------------------------------------------------------------
|ASSEMBLY: |79-0 |(August 30, | | | |
AB 779
Page 2
| | |2016) | | | |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
--------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
COMMENTS:
1)Bill Summary. This bill requires cities, counties and special
districts, on or before April 30 of each year, to post
compensation information about their elected officials in a
conspicuous location on their Web sites. 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 a Web site, it shall compile this
information and make it 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
AB 779
Page 3
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 Web sites,
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.
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 Controller must compile and publish reports
of the financial transactions of local governments. These
reports must include 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 Web site in a form that
can be printed and downloaded. Local agencies that maintain a
Web site must post this compensation information in a
conspicuous location on their Web sites. Local agencies are
AB 779
Page 4
allowed to meet this requirement by posting a link to the
Controller's Web site instead.
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
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 Web
sites, and required the Controller to compile, publish, and
make this information publicly available on the Controller's
Web site.
AB 779
Page 5
5)State Mandate. This bill is keyed a state mandate, which
means the state could be required to reimburse local agencies
for implementing the bill's provisions if the Commission on
State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs
mandated by the state.
6)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."
7)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 any other type of compensation. AB 779 differs
only in specifically requesting that unused vacation time be
AB 779
Page 6
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."
GOVERNOR'S VETO MESSAGE:
"This bill requires local agencies to post the names and total
compensation of elected officials on their websites.
"Local agencies already provide extensive employee compensation
information, which includes the compensation for elected
officials, to the State Controller's Office. If an agency
maintains a website, it must post this information as well.
There is no evidence that existing disclosure requirements are
insufficient. Further, this bill exposes the General Fund to
reimbursable mandate costs that it cannot afford."
Analysis Prepared by:
Angela Mapp / L. GOV. / (916) 319-3958 FN:
0005066
AB 779
Page 7