BILL ANALYSIS �
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 878
Author: DeSaulnier (D)
Amended: 8/22/12
Vote: 21
PRIOR VOTES NOT RELEVANT
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 51-28, 8/27/12 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Office of the Transportation Inspector General
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill establishes the Office of the
Transportation Inspector General to ensure the Department
of Transportation (Caltrans), the High-Speed Rail Authority
(HSRA) and all other state, regional, and local agencies
that use state transportation funds are operating
efficiently, effectively, and in compliance with federal
and state laws.
Assembly Amendments delete the Senate version of the bill,
which dealt with San Francisco Bay Area regional planning,
and instead add the current language.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1. Creates an independent Office of the Inspector General
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to be responsible for contemporaneous oversight of
internal affairs investigations and the disciplinary
process of the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation (CDCR).
2. Creates Offices of Inspector General for the Los Angeles
Unified School District and the Los Angeles County
Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
3. Creates the Bureau of State Audits (BSA) to be
independent of the executive branch and legislative
control.
4. Vests BSA with the responsibility to examine and report
annually upon the financial statements prepared by the
executive branch of the state and to perform other
related assignments, including performance audits that
are mandated by statute.
This bill:
1. Establishes the Inspector General to ensure Caltrans,
HSRA, and all other state, regional, and local agencies
that use state transportation funds are operating
efficiently, effectively, and in compliance with federal
and state laws.
2. Directs the Governor to appoint the Inspector General to
a six-year term and prohibits the Inspector General from
being removed from office during that term, except for
good cause.
3. Directs the Inspector General to review policies,
practices, and procedures, and conduct audits and
investigations of activities involving state
transportation funds; however, limits the Inspector
General's investigations of local transportation
agencies to only allegations involving fraud, waste, or
abuse and limits the Inspector General's audits of local
transportation agencies to only those programs that are
funded with more than 25% state funding.
4. Prohibits the Inspector General from conducting audits
that are redundant of other audits or investigations
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underway or completed within the past 18 months.
5. Directs the Inspector General to report annually to the
Governor and Legislature with a summary of his/her
findings, investigation, and audits; requires that this
summary be posted on the Inspector General's Internet
Web site.
6. Directs the Inspector General, in consultation with the
Department of Finance, to develop a methodology for
developing a budget for the Inspector General's office.
Provides that, to the extent possible, the Inspector
General's office should be funded with federal
transportation funds; otherwise funds should be made
available proportionally from the Highway Users Tax
Account and from an account from which high-speed rail
activities may be funded.
Comments
Inspector Generals are responsible for examining the
actions of government agencies to ensure they are operating
in compliance with generally established policies of
government, to provide leadership and coordination, to
recommend policies for activities designed to promote
economy, efficiency, and effectiveness, and to prevent and
detect fraud and abuse.
Inspector Generals are used at all levels of governments,
for example:
1. At the federal level, there are over seventy offices of
Inspector General, including an Office of Inspector
General for Transportation.
2. California has multiple Inspectors Generals to oversee
state departments, including CDCR, the California
Highway Patrol, and the State Military Department.
3. In Los Angeles, Inspector General oversees the school
district, police department, and transportation
authority, among others.
According to the author's office, as the state's
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transportation resources diminish, efficient and effective
use of every dollar becomes increasingly critical and
believes an Inspector General for transportation may help
encourage improved use of state resources.
Related Legislation
AB 471 (Lowenthal, 2011) would have created an independent
Office of Inspector General to oversee the HSRA. The bill
died in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, annual
federal fund and special fund costs will initially be in
the range of $1 million, but over time will likely increase
to several million dollars.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 51-28, 8/27/12
AYES: Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Block,
Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford, Brownley, Butler, Charles
Calderon, Campos, Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Davis,
Dickinson, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani,
Gatto, Gordon, Hall, Hayashi, Roger Hern�ndez, Hill,
Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Lara, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma,
Mendoza, Mitchell, Monning, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel P�rez,
Portantino, Skinner, Solorio, Swanson, Torres,
Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. P�rez
NOES: Achadjian, Bill Berryhill, Buchanan, Conway, Cook,
Donnelly, Beth Gaines, Garrick, Gorell, Grove, Hagman,
Halderman, Harkey, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Logue,
Mansoor, Miller, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Norby,
Olsen, Silva, Smyth, Valadao, Wagner
NO VOTE RECORDED: Galgiani
JJA:d 8/28/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED
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