BILL NUMBER: AB 1666 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 24, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 2, 2010
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Swanson
JANUARY 20, 2010
An act to amend Section 53087.6 of the Government Code, relating
to local government.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1666, as amended, Swanson. Local government: whistleblower
hotline.
Existing law authorizes a city, county, or city and county auditor
or controller to maintain a whistleblower hotline to receive calls
from persons who have information regarding possible violations by
local government employees of state, federal, or local statutes,
rules, or regulations, and requires any investigation conducted
pursuant to this authorization to be kept confidential except where
release of findings of a conducted investigation is deemed necessary
to serve the interests of the public, except that the identity of the
individual or individuals involved in the investigation is required
to be kept confidential.
This bill would specify that a city, county, or city and county
auditor or controller may maintain the whistleblower hotline to
receive calls from persons who have information regarding fraud,
waste, or abuse, and would define those terms. The bill would also
authorize the auditor or controller to provide a copy of a
substantiated audit report or investigation to the appropriate
appointing authority for disciplinary purposes, as specified.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 53087.6 of the Government Code is amended to
read:
53087.6. (a) (1) A city, county, or city and county auditor or
controller who is elected to office may maintain a whistleblower
hotline to receive calls from persons who have information regarding
fraud, waste, or abuse by local government employees. This section
shall not prohibit any other city, county, or agency from withholding
the identity of a complainant or other information pertaining to the
investigation of a complaint pursuant to statutory authorization to
withhold that information.
(2) A city, county, or city and county auditor or controller who
is appointed by, or is an employee of, a legislative body or the
government agency that is governed by the city, county, or city and
county, shall obtain approval of that legislative body or the
government agency, as the case may be, prior to establishing the
whistleblower hotline.
(b) The auditor or controller may refer calls received on the
whistleblower hotline to the appropriate government authority for
review and possible investigation.
(c) During the initial review of a call received pursuant to
subdivision (a), the auditor or controller, or other appropriate
governmental agency, shall hold in confidence information disclosed
through the whistleblower hotline, including the identity of the
caller disclosing the information and the parties identified by the
caller.
(d) A call made to the whistleblower hotline pursuant to
subdivision (a), or its referral to an appropriate agency under
subdivision (b) , may not be the sole basis for a time
period under a statute of limitation to commence. This section does
not change existing law relating to statutes of limitation.
(e) (1) Upon receiving specific information that an employee or
local government has engaged in an improper government activity, as
defined by paragraph (2) of subdivision (f), a city or county auditor
or controller may conduct an investigative audit of the matter. The
identity of the person providing the information that initiated the
investigative audit shall not be disclosed without the written
permission of that person, unless the disclosure is to a law
enforcement agency that is conducting a criminal investigation. If
the specific information is in regard to improper government activity
that occurred under the jurisdiction of another city, county, or
city and county, the information shall be forwarded to the
appropriate auditor or controller for that city, county, or city and
county.
(2) Any investigative audit conducted pursuant to this subdivision
shall be kept confidential, except to issue any report of an
investigation that has been substantiated, or to release any findings
resulting from a completed investigation that are deemed necessary
to serve the interests of the public. In any event, the identity of
the individual or individuals reporting the improper government
activity, and the subject employee or employees shall be kept
confidential.
(3) Notwithstanding paragraph (2), the auditor or controller may
provide a copy of a substantiated audit report that includes the
identities of the individuals involved and other pertinent
information concerning the investigation to the appropriate
appointing authority for disciplinary purposes. The substantiated
audit report, any subsequent investigatory materials or information,
and the disposition of any resulting disciplinary proceedings are
subject to the confidentiality provisions of applicable local, state,
and federal statutes, rules, and regulations.
(f) (1) For purposes of this section, "employee" means any
individual employed by any county, city, or city and county,
including any charter city or county, and any school district,
community college district, municipal or public corporation, or
political subdivision that falls under the auditor's or controller's
jurisdiction.
(2) For purposes of this section, "fraud, waste, or abuse" means
any activity by a local agency or employee that is undertaken in the
performance of the employee's official duties, including activities
deemed to be outside the scope of his or her employment, that is in
violation of any local, state, or federal law or regulation relating
to corruption, malfeasance, bribery, theft of government property,
fraudulent claims, fraud, coercion, conversion, malicious
prosecution, misuse of government property, or willful omission to
perform duty, is economically wasteful, or involves gross misconduct
, incompetency, or inefficiency .