BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1948
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 2, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
K.H. "Katcho" Achadjian, Chair
AB 1948 (Mullin) - As Amended: March 25, 2014
SUBJECT : Counties: officers: qualification for office.
SUMMARY : Makes mandatory specified qualifications for the
office of county treasurer, county tax collector, or county
treasurer-tax collector that are currently at the discretion of
county boards of supervisors, and expands these qualifications
to the office of consolidated director of finance, director of
finance, or any office consolidated with the office of treasurer
or tax collector. Specifically, this bill :
1)Deletes current law stating that requirements for
qualifications for the office of county treasurer, county tax
collector, or county treasurer-tax collector shall become
effective only in those counties in which, prior to the first
date of the period for filing declarations of candidacy for
the office of county treasurer, county tax collector, or
county treasurer-tax collector, the board of supervisors by
majority vote at a regular meeting with all members present,
enacts an ordinance adopting such requirements.
2)Prohibits any person from being eligible for election or
appointment to the office of consolidated director of finance,
director of finance, or any office consolidated with the
office of treasurer or tax collector of any county unless that
person meets at least one of the following criteria:
a) The person has served in a senior financial management
position in a county, city, or other public agency dealing
with similar financial responsibilities for a continuous
period of not less than three years, including, but not
limited to, treasurer, tax collector, auditor,
auditor-controller, or the chief deputy or an assistant in
those offices;
b) The person possesses a valid baccalaureate, masters, or
doctoral degree from an accredited college or university in
any of the following major fields of study: business
administration, public administration, economics, finance,
accounting, or a related field, with a minimum of 16
AB 1948
Page 2
college semester units, or their equivalent, in accounting,
auditing, or finance;
c) The person possesses a valid certificate issued by the
California Board of Accountancy, as specified, showing that
person to be, and a permit authorizing that person to
practice as, a certified public accountant;
d) The person possesses a valid charter issued by the
Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts showing the
person to be designated a Chartered Financial Analyst, with
a minimum of 16 college semester units, or their
equivalent, in accounting, auditing, or finance; or,
e) The person possesses a valid certificate issued by the
Association for Financial Professionals showing the person
to be designated a Certified Treasury Professional, with a
minimum of 16 college semester units, or their equivalent,
in accounting, auditing, or finance.
3)Applies the provisions of 2), above, to any person duly
elected or appointed as a county treasurer, county tax
collector, county treasurer-tax collector, consolidated
director of finance, director of finance, or any office
consolidated with the office of treasurer or tax collector, on
or after January 1, 2015.
4)Prohibits any person from being considered a legally qualified
candidate for the offices of consolidated director of finance,
director of finance, or any office consolidated with the
office of treasurer or tax collector unless that person has
filed a declaration of candidacy, nomination papers, or
statement of write-in candidacy, accompanied by documentation,
including, but not necessarily limited to, certificates,
declarations under penalty of perjury, diplomas, or official
correspondence, sufficient to establish, in the determination
of the official with whom the declaration or statement is
filed, that the person meets the qualifications specified in
2), above.
5)Provides that no reimbursement is required by this act for
certain costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district because, in that regard, this act creates a new crime
or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes
the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of
AB 1948
Page 3
Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the
definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of
Article XIIIB 6)of the California Constitution. However, if
the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act
contains other costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be
made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of
Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
7)Makes technical and updating changes.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires, if approved by a county board of supervisors
pursuant to 2), below, a person to meet at least one of five
specified criteria to be eligible for election or appointment
to the office of county treasurer, county tax collector, or
county treasurer-tax collector of any county elected or
appointed on or after January 1, 1998. The criteria are:
a) The person has served in a senior financial management
position in a county, city, or other public agency dealing
with similar financial responsibilities for a continuous
period of not less than three years, including, but not
limited to, treasurer, tax collector, auditor,
auditor-controller, or the chief deputy or an assistant in
those offices;
b) The person possesses a valid baccalaureate, masters, or
doctoral degree from an accredited college or university in
any of the following major fields of study: business
administration, public administration, economics, finance,
accounting, or a related field, with a minimum of 16
college semester units, or their equivalent, in accounting,
auditing, or finance;
c) The person possesses a valid certificate issued by the
California Board of Accountancy, as specified, showing that
person to be, and a permit authorizing that person to
practice as, a certified public accountant;
d) The person possesses a valid charter issued by the
Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts showing the
person to be designated a Chartered Financial Analyst, with
a minimum of 16 college semester units, or their
AB 1948
Page 4
equivalent, in accounting, auditing, or finance; or,
e) The person possesses a valid certificate issued by the
Treasury Management Association showing the person to be
designated a Certified Cash Manager, with a minimum of 16
college semester units, or their equivalent, in accounting,
auditing, or finance.
2)Provides that the provisions of 1), above, become effective
only in those counties in which, prior to the first date of
the period for filing declarations of candidacy for the office
of county treasurer, county tax collector, or county
treasurer-tax collector, the board of supervisors by majority
vote at a regular meeting with all members present, enacts an
ordinance adopting those provisions. That ordinance may be
repealed by the board of supervisors at any time.
3)Prohibits a person from being considered a legally qualified
candidate for the offices of county auditor, county district
attorney, county sheriff, county superintendent of schools,
judge of the superior court, county treasurer, county tax
collector, or county treasurer-tax collector, unless the
person has filed a declaration of candidacy, nomination paper,
or statement of write-in candidacy, accompanied by specified
documentation sufficient to establish, in the determination of
the official with whom the declaration or statement is filed,
that the person meets each qualification established by
specified provisions for service in each office.
FISCAL EFFECT : This bill is keyed fiscal.
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of this bill . This bill makes mandatory specified
qualifications for the office of county treasurer, county tax
collector, or county treasurer-tax collector that are
currently at the discretion of county boards of supervisors,
and expands these qualifications to the office of consolidated
director of finance, director of finance, or any office
consolidated with the office of treasurer or tax collector,
and makes conforming, updating and technical changes. This
bill is sponsored by the California Association of County
Treasurers and Tax Collectors.
2)Author's statement . According to the Author, "County
AB 1948
Page 5
treasurer-tax collectors are responsible for a range of
complex financial duties, including the collection of tax
revenue, the safekeeping of taxpayer dollars in the treasury,
and the oversight of investment funds for counties, school
districts and special districts. They manage investment
portfolios that range from several million to billions of
dollars. All banking and public financing operations are
coordinated through their offices. The potential for
mismanagement on the scale of millions, or even billions, of
taxpayer dollars is very real.
"In California, qualifications for county treasurer-tax
collectors are optional and at the discretion of county
supervisors. This means in some counties the eligibility
requirements are just twofold: be over 18 and be a registered
voter in that county. This bar is not high enough for the
person responsible for the financial assets of an entire
county. In contrast, qualifications are currently in place
for county assessors, whose duties include valuing and
enrolling all taxable property. Further, many other county
offices, including district attorneys, sheriffs,
veterinarians, and superintendents of schools must meet
specified qualifications before seeking office. Considering
the scale of public dollars at stake and the complex nature of
investing and banking, it is important we have standards in
place to ensure the proper management of taxpayer dollars."
3)Previous legislation . SB 866 (Craven), Chapter 784, Statutes
of 1995, established a number of provisions to increase
oversight of county investment practices. SB 866 was a
response to the bankruptcy filing on December 6, 1994, by
Orange County and the Orange County Investment Pool, which
lost more than $1.5 billion in high-risk investments.
Among its many provisions, SB 866 established that, in order
to be eligible for election or appointment to the office of
county treasurer, county tax collector, or county
treasurer-tax collector of any county, a person must meet at
least one of the following five criteria:
a) The person has served in a senior financial management
position in a county, city, or other public agency dealing
with similar financial responsibilities for a continuous
period of not less than three years, including, but not
limited to, treasurer, tax collector, auditor,
AB 1948
Page 6
auditor-controller, or the chief deputy or an assistant in
those offices;
b) The person possesses a valid baccalaureate, masters, or
doctoral degree from an accredited college or university in
any of the following major fields of study: business
administration, public administration, economics, finance,
accounting, or a related field, with a minimum of 16
college semester units, or their equivalent, in accounting,
auditing, or finance;
c) The person possesses a valid certificate issued by the
California Board of Accountancy showing that person to be,
and a permit authorizing that person to practice as, a
certified public accountant;
d) The person possesses a valid charter issued by the
Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts showing the
person to be designated a Chartered Financial Analyst, with
a minimum of 16 college semester units, or their
equivalent, in accounting, auditing, or finance; or,
e) The person possesses a valid certificate issued by the
Treasury Management Association showing the person to be
designated a Certified Cash Manager, with a minimum of 16
college semester units, or their equivalent, in accounting,
auditing, or finance.
However, SB 866 provided that these qualifications become
effective only if a county's board of supervisors enacts an
ordinance to adopt these requirements, which the board may
repeal at any time. This bill makes these professional
qualifications mandatory, instead of at the discretion of each
county board of supervisors, and requires them for the offices
of director of finance, consolidated director of finance, or
any office consolidated with the office of treasurer or tax
collector, beginning January 1, 2015.
Current law, pursuant to the Elections Code, also prohibits a
person from being considered a legally qualified candidate for
several offices, including county treasurer, county tax
collector, or county treasurer-tax collector unless the person
files a declaration of candidacy, nomination paper, or
statement of write-in candidacy, accompanied by specified
documentation to establish that the person meets the
AB 1948
Page 7
qualifications for each office. This bill updates the
Elections Code to conform to the other provisions of the bill.
4)State mandate . This bill is keyed a state mandate, which
means the state could be required to reimburse local agencies
and school districts for implementing the bill's provisions if
the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill
contains costs mandated by the state.
5)Technical amendment : To maintain consistency with language in
current law, the Committee may wish to consider the following
technical amendment:
On page 3, in line 23, after "the" insert "office of county
treasurer, county tax collector,"
6)Concerns . The Rural County Representatives of California and
the California State Association of Counties, in expressing
concerns with this bill, note, "We recognize the importance
and value of having those who serve in important county fiscal
offices meet training and educational standards?However, we
are concerned about these standards impacting the ability to
recruit and retain qualified candidates in low-population
counties. Keep in mind that some counties have very small
populations with median educational levels that are far less
than the state average. While laudable in its intent, the
practical impact of AB 1948 could hamper a county's ability to
have qualified candidates for these positions or set
expectations that certain qualifications are being met when
they may not be. As such, we urge caution as previous
Legislatures have seen the wisdom in leaving this decision
with the Board of Supervisors."
7)Arguments in support : The California Association of County
Treasurers and Tax Collectors, sponsor of this bill, states,
"This measure further professionalizes the treasurer-tax
collector and finance director positions. Given the important
role of maintaining the county treasury - which manages funds
for the county, special districts and schools - it is critical
that those who are entrusted by the public to handle these
dollars are trained appropriately and meet minimum
qualifications."
8)Arguments in opposition : None on file.
AB 1948
Page 8
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Association of County Treasurers and Tax Collectors
[SPONSOR]
Concerns
California State Association of Counties
Rural County Representatives of California
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Angela Mapp / L. GOV. / (916) 319-3958