BILL ANALYSIS
AB 400
Page 1
Date of Hearing: March 31, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS
Mary Hayashi, Chair
AB 400 (De Leon) - As Amended: March 16, 2009
SUBJECT : State agencies: Fiscal funds.
SUMMARY : Requires the Financial Information System for
California (FISCal) to list State General Fund and federal fund
expenditures in the amount of $10,000 or greater on a public Web
site and to update this information annually. Specifically,
this bill :
1)Defines "General Fund and federal fund expenditures" as the
expenditure or transfer of funds in excess of $10,000 by any
state department, including:
a) Grants;
b) Contracts; and,
c) Purchase Orders.
2)Excludes General Fund transfers between state departments or
agencies, or the transfer of state or federal assistance
payments to any individual recipient or beneficiary of those
assistance payments.
3)Requires the following information for each General Fund and
federal fund expenditure to be listed:
a) The name and principal location of each entity or other
recipient of the funds;
b) The amount of the expenditure;
c) The type of transaction;
d) The identity of the state department or agency making
the expenditure;
e) The budget program source for the expenditure;
f) A brief description of the purpose for the expenditure;
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and,
g) A brief description of any item purchased pursuant to
the expenditure.
4)Requires the Office of the Financial Information System for
California, upon establishment, to post, on an Internet Web
site, the information on general fund and federal fund
expenditures for each state agency or department within six
months of its implementation of FISCal, and then update the
information annually, thereafter.
5)Makes legislative findings and declarations.
EXISTING LAW requires state agencies to comply with transparency
laws, including open meeting acts and public information
requests.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
Purpose of the bill . According to the author's office, "AB 400
seeks to provider greater transparency in the state budget
process, so the public can easily access and readily review how
taxpayer money is being spent. Support for public programs is
largely predicated on the belief that tax dollars are spent in a
prudent and efficient manner. Transparency in the expenditure
of these tax dollars is critical to returning public support and
confidence in state government."
Background . The 2006 passage of the federal Funding
Accountability and Transparency Act, sponsored by Senators Tom
Coburn (R-OK) and Barack Obama (D-IL), was a bipartisan effort
to increase transparency and accountability in government
operations. The Act mandates a free, online searchable database
that includes information on all federal grant and contract
expenditures over $25,000. The Office of Management and Budget
maintains the Web site ( www.usaspending.gov ) and database which
launched on December 13, 2007.
The Act triggered parallel budget transparency efforts at the
state level, and in 2007, the legislatures of Kansas, Texas,
Oklahoma, Hawaii, and Minnesota, passed similar transparency
laws. Since then, several governors have issued executive
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orders to provide greater transparency in government spending:
Missouri Governor Matt Blunt created the Missouri Accountability
Portal on July 13, 2007, South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford
created a single searchable Web site for state expenditures on
August 31, 2007, and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal called for
increased transparency in government spending in 2008 with the
Legislature following in step with a searchable Web site, and
Alaska Governor Sarah Palin published the state's payment
register at the start of 2008.
In California, legislation has surfaced in previous years
requiring state and local agencies to post guidelines on
submitting information requests.
Financial Information System for California (FISCal)
FISCal is an integrated information technology project designed
to create and implement a new statewide financial system which
will encompass the areas of budgeting, accounting, procurement,
cash management, financial management, financial reporting, cost
accounting, asset management, project accounting, and human
resources management. FISCal is designed to replace
California's aging financial management systems; FISCal will be
rolled out in five phases, over a multi-year period, to more
than a hundred departments and agencies.
Development of this system has been done collaboratively (under
FISCal), which includes the Department of Finance (DOF), the
State Treasurer's Office (STO), the State Controller's Office
(SCO), and the Department of General Services (DGS). The system
is required to have an online searchable database and the
capability of operating a coding structure which indicates the
categorization of expenditures and revenues. The system and the
data are required to be available to both the legislative and
executive branches.
The FISCal project was proposed during the 2007-08 budget
process as an entirely General Fund project. However, due to a
number of factors including General Fund expense, the
Legislature requested more information on alternative funding
scenarios, vendor accountability, and formalization of control
agency roles. It is unclear when FISCal will move forward and
whether the proposed timeline will remain intact.
Prior Legislation .
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SB 1494 (McClintock) of 2008 requires each state department and
agency to develop and operate a Web site accessible by the
public that includes specified information related to the
expenditures of state funds, defined to include, among other
things, grants, contracts, subcontracts, purchase orders, and
tax refunds, rebates, and credits that are $1,000 or greater.
This bill died in Senate Appropriations.
AB 1843 (Garrick) of 2008 requires the State Controller, with
the assistance of the Department of Technology Services to
create and maintain an easily searchable database providing
information regarding how the state expends funds on certain
programs and whether the state achieved the intended results of
those programs. The data would be available to the public at no
charge and would be accessible via the internet through a link
on the State of California Web portal. The bill requires the
database (containing information for Fiscal Year 2008-09) to be
implemented by January 1, 2010.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file.
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Joanna Gin / B. & P. / (916) 319-3301