BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1625
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 19, 2005
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS
Gloria Negrete McLeod, Chair
AB 1625 (Klehs) - As Amended: April 11, 2005
SUBJECT : State government reports: perjury.
SUMMARY : Requires every written state agency report to the
Legislature to be signed under penalty of perjury by the head of
the agency that the contents of the report are accurate to the
best of his or her knowledge. Limits the application of these
provisions to individuals appointed by the Governor and
confirmed by the Senate, and the executive officers of the
Franchise Tax Board, and Board of Equalization.
EXISTING LAW establishes numerous requirements for state
agencies to prepare and submit to the Legislature, written
reports on various subject matters of interest to lawmakers.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
According to the author's office, "The purpose of having reports
be signed under penalty of perjury is to ensure that the
appropriate people are receiving the most accurate information
to be effective in making decisions. In response to the
financial scandals of the early 2000s, Congress passed the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. The components of this federal law
include affecting a business' financial services and require
CEO's to sign under penalty of perjury when reporting to the
company's shareholders. This bill, if passed into law, would
ensure that the State Legislature would receive the most
accurate information which is important to legislate
effectively."
This bill presumably will enhance the accuracy of important
information provided to the Legislature. For example, in
December 2004, the State Auditor released its report "Department
of Transportation: Various Factors Increased Its Cost Estimates
for Toll Bridge Retrofits, and Its Program Management Needs
Improving," which identified numerous issues associated with its
bridge retrofit program and the lack of complete reporting of
the the cost overruns related to the East Span of the San
AB 1625
Page 2
Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge project. The State Auditor's
report stated:
"Although state law requires Caltrans to periodically report the
program's status and notify the Legislature of program cost
overruns, Caltrans did not report cost overruns it should have
known of until they were staggering.
"With the sole bid for the signature span's superstructure
expiring on September 30, 2004, Caltrans gave the Legislature
about six weeks to develop a funding solution to the $3.2
billion cost overrun."
This bill would establish potential criminal penalties for
failure to provide accurate information in a state agency report
to the Legislature. The penalty for perjury is punishable by up
to 4 years in state prison.
It may appropriate to consider whether the language of this bill
should be expanded to clarify that making a complete report of
all relevant information is also required to achieve compliance
with state reporting requirements. This could be accomplished
by amending Page 2, line 9 to insert "true," after "report are",
and " and complete" after the word "are."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
None on file.
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Ross Warren / B. & P. / (916) 319-3301