BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT & RETIREMENT BILL NO: AB 1654
Gloria Negrete McLeod, Chair HEARING DATE: June 11, 2012
AB 1654 (Cook) as amended 5/07/12 FISCAL: NO
FIVE YEAR BAN ON ANY PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT FOR AT-WILL PUBLIC
EMPLOYEES CONVICTED OF JOB RELATED FELONIES
HISTORY :
Sponsor: Author
Other legislation: AB 1044 (Aghazarian),
Chapter 322, Statutes of 2005
SB 1882 (Campbell),
Chapter 991, Statutes of 1994
SB 42 (Nejedly),
Chapter 1139, Statutes of 1976
ASSEMBLY VOTES :
PER & SS 5-0 5/02/12
Assembly Floor 72-0 5/14/12
SUMMARY :
AB 1654 disqualifies certain at-will public employees from
any public employment for a period of five years following
the later of a specified felony conviction or release from
incarceration, and makes findings and declarations regarding
the bill's applicability to charter cities and counties.
BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS :
1) Existing law :
a) makes punishable by imprisonment for two, three, or
four years any person who bribes or offers a bribe to a
public official, as specified, and any public official
who accepts a bribe. A public official convicted of
bribery is forever disfranchised and disqualified from
holding any public office or trust.
Glenn A. Miles
Date: 5/23/12 Page 1
2) This bill :
a) prohibits a public employee who is convicted of a
felony involving bribery, embezzlement of public money,
extortion or theft of public money, perjury, or
conspiracy to commit any of those crimes arising out of
his or her official duties from being employed by a
city, county, district, or any other public agency of
the state for a period of five years.
b) specifies that the five-year disqualification period
begins on the later of:
i. The date of final conviction; or,
ii. The date on which the employee is released from
incarceration.
c) defines "public employee" for purposes of these
provisions as an at-will employee hired to provide
services to an elected public officer elected or
reelected to public office on or after January 1, 2013.
d) declares that this is an issue of statewide concern
and not a municipal affair and, therefore, will apply to
all cities and counties, including charter cities and
counties.
COMMENTS :
1)Argument in Support
According to the author, this bill responds to a problem as
illustrated by the San Bernardino County developer corruption
scandal involving Colonies Partners. Certain elected county
supervisors involved in that scandal face a permanent ban
from office if convicted. However, certain non-elected,
at-will public employees implicated in the investigation are
not subject to the same ban and could obtain employment in
another public agency subsequent to their conviction.
Background information provided by the author's office notes:
"Following years of investigation, the former Chairman of the
San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors pled guilty to
Glenn A. Miles
Date: 5/23/12 Page 2
multiple felony charges, including bribery, conspiracy, and
embezzlement. Additionally, the developer, another former
San Bernardino County Supervisor, and two former chiefs of
staff to San Bernardino County Supervisors have been charged
in the case.
"If convicted, both former supervisors will be barred from
holding public office. Despite being charged with similar
crimes as part of the same case, the former chiefs of staff
will be eligible to seek and hold public employment. This
could allow them to end up on the payroll of another city or
county, even after being convicted of grossly violating the
public trust in San Bernardino County. Unfortunately, the
Colonies case is not an isolated incident, as corruption
scandals in Bell, Vernon, and other California cities have
shown. The failure to hold high level staff of elected
officials to the same standard as their bosses is a major
oversight in current law."
The author further states, "The California Constitution
already recognizes that elected officials who abuse their
office should be barred from holding public office. This
bill will extend that principle to senior political staff.
Whether you're a legislator, mayor, or chief of staff,
criminals who violate the public trust have no place on
public payrolls."
2)OPPOSITION :
None to date
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Glenn A. Miles
Date: 5/23/12 Page 3