BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
AB 2062 (Davis) - Statements of Economic Interest
Amended: May 25, 2012 Policy Vote: ER&CA 5-0
Urgency: Yes Mandate: No
Hearing Date: August 6, 2012
Consultant: Maureen Ortiz
This bill does not meet the criteria for referral to the
Suspense File.
Bill Summary: AB 2062 authorizes all local government agencies
to permit the electronic filing of a statement of economic
interest (SEI) upon the approval and certification of an
electronic filing system by the Fair Political Practices
Commission (FPPC). Each agency will be required to submit a fee
of $1,000 to the FPPC.
Fiscal Impact: The FPPC indicates annual costs of approximately
$150,000, likely offset by fee revenue (General).
There are thousands of local agencies including counties,
cities, special districts and school districts. If only 150 of
those agencies elect to use electronic filing and pay the $1,000
fee, all costs to the FPPC will be reimbursed.
Background: Existing law requires that candidates for, and
current holders of, specified elected or appointed state and
local offices and designated employees of state and local
agencies file Statements of Economic Interest (SEIs) disclosing
their financial interests, including investments, real property
interests, and income. It is estimated that over 200,000
officials and employees statewide are required to file SEIs
annually.
AB 2607 (Davis) Chapter 498/2008, and expanded by AB 1921
(Davis), Chapter 58/2010, established a pilot project which
permits Los Angeles, Merced, Orange, Santa Clara, Stanislaus,
and Ventura counties and the City of Long Beach to permit the
electronic filing of an SEI in accordance with regulations
adopted by the Fair Political Practices Commission. The pilot
project covered the reporting periods of 2008 through 2011.
AB 2062 (Davis)
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AB 2607 required a city or county participating in the pilot
project to submit a report to the FPPC not later than July 1,
2011, and required the report to include a listing and estimate
of associated operational efficiencies; related savings and
associated costs for implementing and operating the pilot
program; a listing of the safety, security, or privacy issues
encountered and an explanation of how those issues were
addressed; available information related to feedback from
electronic filing participants; and any other relevant
information on the implementation of the pilot program.
Proposed Law: AB 2062 expands the above pilot statewide, but
requires any local agency wishing to participate to pay a $1,000
fee to the FPPC for the approval and certification of the
electronic filing system. The agency will be prohibited from
charging a person to electronically file an SEI. The bill
additionally authorizes the Commission to conduct discretionary
audits of an agency's electronic filing system to evaluate its
performance and compliance with the program. The FPPC will be
required to accept electronic copies of SEIs forwarded to it by
an agency that has received an electronically filed statement
from its filers.
Staff Comments: In January 2012, the Legislative Analyst's
Office (LAO) reported to the Legislature that the participating
government entities realized operational efficiencies through
reduced personnel due to the significant reduction in the number
of errors, among other cost savings. Additionally, no
securities issues were reported with the electronic filing
systems, and most users considered it to be a useful and easy
process.
As a result, the LAO made the following recommendations to the
Legislature: a) to allow participating entities to continue
electronic filing on an ongoing basis, b) to consider expanding
the pilot statewide, and c) to authorize the FPPC to establish
any guidelines and specifications necessary.
AB 2062 is an urgency measure that will allow the FPPC time to
develop regulations and procedures critical to the
implementation of a system for the electronic filing of
statements of economic interests prior to the 2013 filing
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period.
AB 2062 furthers the purpose of the Political Reform Act of 1974
and will require a 2/3rd vote on the Senate Floor.