BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1342
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Date of Hearing: June 8, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY
Mark Stone, Chair
SB
1342 (Mendoza) - As Amended May 26, 2016
PROPOSED CONSENT
SENATE VOTE: 38-0
SUBJECT: Wages: investigations: subpoenas
KEY ISSUE: is it necessary to clarify that a city or county has
the power to delegate its authority to issue subpoenas to city
and county officials or department heads, and to report
noncompliance thereof, in order to enforce local laws, including
local wage laws?
SYNOPSIS
This bill would clarify that the legislative body of a city or
county may delegate, to a city or county official or department
head, its power to issue subpoenas and report noncompliance with
the subpoena to the judge of the superior court, in order to
enforce local wage laws. Existing law already gives a city or
county the power to issue subpoenas and report noncompliance
with subpoenas in order to enforce any local law or ordinance,
and existing case law already makes it clear that a city or
county can delegate these powers to local officials. This bill
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codifies these powers within a single code section and specifies
that this power applies to the enforcement of local wages laws.
As the bill expressly states, its provisions do not constitute a
change in, but are merely declaratory of, existing law.
Although the bill was prompted by concerns about the enforcement
of local wage laws, this bill as recently amended would clarify
the authority of a city or county to delegate its subpoena
power, and report violations thereof, to enforce any local law
or ordinance, including local wage laws. While cities and
counties already possess the authority expressly granted by this
bill, the author maintains that "many cities and counties are
uncertain or unaware of this authority." In addition, while the
power of the legislative authority of a city to delegate
subpoena power is expressly stated in statute, there is no
express provision authorizing the county to do the same, even
though the California Supreme Court has held that a county most
certainly has this power. This bill will make it absolutely
clear that the legislative body of both a city and a county has
the authority to issue a subpoena to enforce its laws and
ordinances; may delegate that authority to city or county
officials; and may report noncompliance with a subpoena to the
appropriate superior court. There is no opposition to the
measure, which passed unanimously in all Senate committee and
floor votes.
SUMMARY: Clarifies that a legislative body of a city or county
may delegate to a city or county official or department head
it's authority to issue a subpoena and report noncompliance
thereof to the proper court. Specifically, this bill:
1)Makes findings and declarations relating to the problem of
wage theft and the enforcement of local minimum wage
ordinances, including the authority to issue subpoenas in
support of enforcing such ordinances. States the intent of
the Legislature to promote honest pay for fair work by giving
appropriate investigatory tools to the local law enforcement
programs.
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2)Specifies that the legislative body of a city or county may
delegate to a county or city official or department head its
authority to issue subpoenas and to report noncompliance
thereof to the judge of the superior court of the county, in
order to enforce any local law or ordinance, including, but
not limited to, local wage laws.
3)Finds and declares that these provisions do not constitute a
change in, but are declaratory of, existing law.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Provides, generally, that a county board of supervisors may
perform acts required by law, or which are necessary to
discharge the duties of the legislative authority of the
county government. (Government Code Section 25207.)
2)Provides that when a state law or local ordinance provides
that a hearing be held or that findings of fact or conclusions
of law be made by any county board, ageny, commission, or
committee, the county hearing officer may be authorized by
ordinace or resolution to conduct the hearing; to issue
subpoenas; to receive evidence; to administer oaths; to rule
on questions of law and the admissibility of evidence; and to
prepare a record of the proceedings. (Government Code Section
27721.)
3)Authorizes the legislative body of a city to issue subpoenas
requiring attendance of witnesses or production of books or
other documents for evidence or testimony in any action or
proceeding before it. (Government Code Section 37104.)
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4)Provides that if any person who is duly subpoenaed neglects or
refuses to obey a subpoena, or, appearing, refuses to testify
or answer any questions which a majority of the legislative
body decide proper and pertinent, the mayor shall report the
fact to the judge of the superior court of the county.
(Government Code Section 37106.)
5)Holds that the fact that the California Constitution does not
expressly grant to charter counties the specific authority to
give its county officers power to issue subpoenas does not
mean that charter counties do not have the power to do so.
(Dibb v. County of San Diego (1994) 8 Cal 4th 1200, and cases
cited therein.)
FISCAL EFFECT: As currently in print this bill is keyed
non-fiscal.
COMMENTS: Sponsored by the Los Angeles County Board of
Supervisors, this bill would clarify that the legislative body
of a city or county may delegate, to a city or county official
or department head, its power to issue subpoenas and report
noncompliance with a subpoena to the judge of the superior
court, in order to enforce any local law or ordinance,
including, but not limited to, local wage laws. Existing law
already gives a city or county the power to issues subpoenas and
report noncompliance in order to enforce any local law or
ordinance and existing case law already makes it clear that a
city or county can delegate such powers to local officials. Why
then, one might reasonably ask, is this bill necessary? While
the bill may not be necessary, it nonetheless usefully codifies
these existing powers within a single code section and specifies
that this power applies to the enforcement of local wages laws,
among other local laws and ordinances. As expressly stated in
the bill, the provisions of this bill do not constitute a change
in, but are declaratory of, existing law. Although the bill was
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prompted by concerns about the enforcement of local wage laws,
in particular, it will allow a city or county to delegate its
subpoena power, and report violations thereof, to enforce any
local law or ordinance, including local wage laws.
Background. Although this measure will clarify the ability of a
city and county legislative body to delegate subpoena power to
enforce any local law or ordinance, the author and sponsor are
particularly concerned about the ability of local authorities to
enforce local wage laws. At least fourteen jurisdictions within
the state have minimum wage laws that exceed the minimum wage
mandated by the state and by the federal government. Yet,
despite the existence of these laws, the author and sponsor
claim that wage theft - which includes not only failure to pay
the minimum wage, but failure to pay overtime or for
off-the-clock work - continues to be a serious problem.
According to the sponsor, in Los Angeles County alone, workers
are denied over $26 million a week in legally-earned and
legally-mandated wages. Although cities and counties have the
inherent authority to enforce local laws, the author and sponsor
maintain that they also need the power to issue subpoenas in
order to investigate alleged violations and produce evidence
that will inform the decision whether to file a complaint. As a
general matter, the city and county legislative bodies that
enact local laws have the power to subpoena evidence as
necessary to enforce those laws, and, as a general matter, have
the power to delegate this subpoena authority to individual city
or county officials or department heads responsible for
enforcing a particular local law. If a person or entity duly
subpoenaed does not comply with the subpoena, the person or
entity that issued the subpoena can report noncompliance to the
appropriate superior court. (See Dibb v. County of San Diego
(1994) 8 Cal 4th 1200; Government Code Sections 25207, 27721,
37104, and 37106.)
However, these existing powers and authority, while clear and
unquestioned, are not expressly stated in a single statute with
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consistent language. Provisions setting forth the subpoena
power of cities and counties appear in different sections of the
Government Code with slightly different wording. The decision
in Dibb v. County of San Diego, supra, finds such powers to be
inherent in the general authority of a city or county to enforce
its laws and implicit in the overall statutory scheme, but the
Dibb holding is nowhere succinctly and expressly codified. This
bill will expressly state, within a single statute, the ability
of a city or county to delegate its subpoena power to local
officials and report noncompliance to the appropriate superior
court.
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the author, "well over a
dozen cities and counties have passed minimum wage ordinances
going beyond the State-mandated $10 an hour. In many cases,
however, employers do not obey these laws. In Los Angeles
County alone, workers are denied over $26 million a week in
earned wages and have no local enforcement mechanism to assist
them." The author argues that while "Subpoenas are a necessary
part of conducting a full and fair investigation of alleged
violations of local ordinances because subpoenas can compel the
production of evidence from both sides of a complaint," and
"existing law grants administrative subpoena authority to the
heads of state departments to investigate matters under a
department's jurisdiction . . . many cities and counties are
uncertain or unaware of this legal authority." Accordingly, the
sponsor, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, concludes
that "SB 1342 will eliminate any uncertainty in current law that
allows a county board of supervisors or the legislative body of
a city to delegate its administrative subpoena power."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors (sponsor)
SB 1342
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Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by:Thomas Clark / JUD. / (916)
319-2334