BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1135|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1135
Author: Strickland (R), et al
Amended: 7/3/07 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE GOVERNMENTAL ORG. COMMITTEE : 8-0, 6/26/07
AYES: Florez, Denham, Maldonado, Negrete McLeod, Vincent,
Wiggins, Wyland, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Battin
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE : 5-0, 7/10/07
AYES: Corbett, Harman, Ackerman, Kuehl, Steinberg
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 72-0, 5/21/07 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : State government: reports: declarations
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill requires written reports submitted to
the Legislature or executive body to include a signed
statement by the head of the agency or department that the
contents of the report are true, accurate, and complete, to
the best of his/her knowledge.
ANALYSIS : Existing law establishes numerous requirements
for state and local government agencies to prepare and
submit to the Legislature, the Governor, and other
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governmental entities, written reports on various subject
matters of interest to policymakers and regulatory
entities.
This bill:
1. Stipulates that every written report required to be
submitted to the Legislature, a Member of the
Legislature, or any state legislative or executive body
by any state agency or department must include a signed
statement by the head of that agency or department
declaring that the factual contents of the report are
true, accurate, and complete to the best of his/her
knowledge.
2. Declares that the provisions of this bill apply to the
head of every state agency or department, including but
not limited to, elected state officials, and any state
official whose duties are prescribed by the California
Constitution.
3. Provides that with respect to the Franchise Tax Board,
the signed statement shall be made by the board's
executive officer and with respect to the Board of
Equalization the signed statement shall be made by the
executive director.
4. Provides that any person who declares as true any
material matter that he/she knows to be false shall be
liable for a civil penalty not to exceed $20,000. Also,
provides that the civil penalties shall be exclusively
assessed and recovered in a civil action brought by the
Attorney General.
5. Defines "written report" and stipulates that the
declaration in the signed statement as to the truth,
accuracy, and completeness of the contents of the
written report shall not apply to any forecasts,
predictions, recommendations, or opinions contained in
the report.
Prior Legislation
AB 2404 (Klehs), 2005-06 session, required written reports
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that are required to be submitted by any state agency,
board, or commission to include a signed statement by the
head of the agency or chair of the board or commission,
declaring that the contents of the report are true,
accurate, and complete to the best of his/her knowledge.
The bill was vetoed by the Governor. In his veto message,
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."
AB 1625 (Klehs), 2005-06 session, required written reports
that are required to be submitted to the Legislature by any
state agency, board, or commission to include a signed
statement by the head of the agency, chair of the board or
commission or executive director, declaring that the
contents of the report are true, accurate, and complete to
the best of his/her knowledge. The bill was vetoed by the
Governor.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/20/07)
American Federation of State, County and Municipal
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Employees
OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/20/07)
California Building Standards Commission
Department of Consumer Affairs
Department of Corporations
Department of Fair Employment and Housing
Department of Finance
Department of Health Care Services
Department of Mental Health
Department of Personnel Administration
Department of Public Health
Department of Real Estate
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : This bill has been introduced in
response to a series of hearings in which it was found that
the Department of Transportation (Caltrans) had provided
inaccurate information to the Legislature and withheld
information concerning the retrofit of the eastern span of
the Bay Bridge. During the Joint Legislative Audit
Committee hearing to review the audit on the Bay Bridge
project, it was found that Caltrans and other agency heads
had withheld information from the Legislature or
misrepresented certain facts, such as cost overruns and
evidence of project mismanagement. The author's office
contends that under existing law, the officials had no
liability for their actions. The author's office also
points out that other types of reports, including the
"Annual Road Report" and the "Annual Street Report" are
already filed under certification and penalty of perjury.
The author's office argues that "it does not make sense to
require certification from some agencies and not others."
According to the author's office, this bill ensures that
all state agencies and departments and the officials in
charge of them are held accountable to the same standards.
In addition, the author's office states that this bill
brings state agency certification in line with what public
companies are already required to do by federal law,
namely, "remain accountable to their shareholders in
providing accurate financial information." The author's
office points out that "California taxpayers are the
shareholders in state and local entities and they deserve
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the same accountability from the officials appointed to
manage public funds."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : The Department of Consumer
Affairs and the Department of Mental Health have expressed
opposition to this bill on the basis that it is unnecessary
given the extensive protections already in place to ensure
accurate reporting and communications in state government.
For example, requirements for executing an oath of office
or oath of allegiance for state employees, appointees,
elected officials and constitutional officers are found in
the Government Code and those oaths require faithful
discharge of all assigned duties with misdemeanor
punishment for delinquency in the performance of those
duties.
Additionally, provisions for the filing of perjury charges
for willfully signing false statements are found in
sections of both the Government Code and the Penal Code.
Successful prosecution can result in sentences to state
prison for up to 14 years. Furthermore, opponents note
that "the civil penalty provision contained in this measure
would not obviate any criminal charges that may be filed
and is not considered a necessary deterrent given the range
of punishments already found in law."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Aghazarian, Anderson, Arambula, Bass, Beall,
Benoit, Berg, Berryhill, Blakeslee, Brownley, Caballero,
Charles Calderon, Carter, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre,
De Leon, DeSaulnier, DeVore, Duvall, Dymally, Emmerson,
Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fuller, Gaines, Galgiani, Garcia,
Garrick, Hancock, Hayashi, Hernandez, Horton, Houston,
Huffman, Jones, Karnette, Keene, Krekorian, La Malfa,
Laird, Leno, Levine, Lieber, Lieu, Ma, Mendoza, Mullin,
Nava, Niello, Parra, Plescia, Portantino, Price,
Richardson, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva, Smyth,
Solorio, Spitzer, Strickland, Swanson, Torrico, Tran,
Villines, Wolk, Nunez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Huff, Jeffries, Maze, Nakanishi, Sharon
Runner, Soto, Walters, Vacancy
TSM:mw 8/21/07 Senate Floor Analyses
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SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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