BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1135
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1135 (Strickland)
As Amended April 17, 2007
Majority vote
BUSINESS & PROFESSIONS 8-1 APPROPRIATIONS 12-4
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|Ayes:|Eng, Emmerson, Bass, |Ayes:|Leno, Caballero, Davis, |
| |Carter, Hayashi, | |DeSaulnier, Emmerson, |
| |Hernandez, Price, Torrico | |Huffman, Karnette, |
| | | |Krekorian, De La Torre, |
| | | |Ma, Nava, Solorio |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Maze |Nays:|Walters, La Malfa, |
| | | |Nakanishi, |
| | | |Sharon Runner |
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SUMMARY : Requires state agency reports to the Legislature to
include a signed statement under penalty of perjury by the head
of the agency that the contents of the report are true,
accurate, and complete, to the best of his/her knowledge.
Specifically, this bill :
1)States that the provisions of this bill apply to the head of
every state agency, elected state officials, and any official
whose duties are prescribed by the California Constitution,
and the executive officers of the Franchise Tax Board and
Board of Equalization.
2)Subjects any person who knowingly declares a false statement
to be true to a civil penalty of up to $20,000. Requires an
action to assess civil penalties to be brought by the Attorney
General (AG).
EXISTING LAW establishes numerous requirements for state and
local government agencies to prepare and submit to the
Legislature, the Governor, and other governmental entities,
written reports on various subject matters of interest to
policymakers and regulatory entities.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
AB 1135
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Committee, potential, likely minor, absorbable costs to the AG
for investigation and prosecution offset to some extent by fine
revenue.
COMMENTS : According to the author: "This bill would ensure
that all agencies, cities, counties, and the officials in charge
of them are held accountable to the same standards. In
addition, the bill would bring state agency certification in
line with what public companies are already required to do by
federal law - remain accountable to their shareholders in
providing accurate financial information. California taxpayers
are the shareholders in state and local entities. They deserve
the same accountability from the officials appointed to manage
public funds."
This bill contains provisions similar to AB 1625 (Klehs) of
2005, and AB 2404 (Klehs) of 2006, both of which were vetoed by
the Governor. In his veto message of AB 1625, the Governor
stated:
I absolutely believe that the Legislature, indeed
all elected officials, must base their decisions
on information that is true, accurate, and
complete. This bill, requiring legislative
reports to be submitted under penalty of perjury,
only applies to individuals appointed by the
Governor and confirmed by the Senate, and to the
executive officer of the Franchise Tax Board and
the executive director of the Board of
Equalization.
The law already protects against falsified
reports to the Legislature. Department heads
must take oaths of office, and various Government
and Penal Code provisions set forth duties,
obligations, and penalties for the accurate and
truthful execution of the operation of state
government. Further, the Legislature may already
require individuals appearing before it to
testify under oath, and false testimony is a
felony.
I will consider similar legislation that applies
to all written materials used in the course of
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legislative deliberations that applies to any
official of the State, elected or appointed by
the Governor, the Legislature or any other
constitutional officer.
In his veto message of AB 2404, the Governor stated:
Although I agree that the Legislature should
base their decisions on sound information that
is true, accurate and complete, I believe that
this bill is the wrong approach. By requiring
that only mandatory reports submitted to the
Legislature and State Controller contain signed
statements attesting to their accuracy, this
bill would create an inconsistent system in
which some of the information considered in the
legislative process is subject to declarations
of truth, while the majority of the written
material used in the legislative process is
accepted as truth without such verification.
The Legislature already has the authority to
question the accuracy of a report by requiring
those responsible for submitting the report to
attest to the accuracy of the report under
oath. Given this legislative oversight and
the fact that state law already makes it a
misdemeanor for a state or local official to
submit a written report containing false
information to the State Controller, this
measure is unnecessary.
Analysis Prepared by : Ross Warren / B. & P. / (916) 319-3301
FN: 0000616