BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1948|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1948
Author: Mullin (D)
Amended: 4/7/14 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE GOVERNANCE & FINANCE COMMITTEE : 5-2, 6/11/14
AYES: Wolk, Beall, DeSaulnier, Hernandez, Liu
NOES: Knight, Walters
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 5-2, 6/23/14
AYES: De Le�n, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
NOES: Walters, Gaines
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 73-0, 5/8/14 (Consent) - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Counties: officers: qualification for office
SOURCE : California Association of County Treasurers and Tax
Collectors
DIGEST : 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.
ANALYSIS : State law establishes numerous county offices,
including county treasurer, tax collector, and director of
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AB 1948
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2
finance. Many counties have combined the offices of treasurer
and tax collector. Counties also can combine the offices of
auditor, controller, treasurer, and tax collector into one
elected or appointed office of the director of finance.
This bill deletes the provision in existing law that states that
requirements for qualification for the office of county
treasurer, county tax collector, or county-treasurer-tax
collected shall become effective only in those counties in which
the board of supervisors enacts an ordinance adopting such
requirements.
This bill prohibits any person from being eligible for election
or appointment to any office of county treasurer, tax collector,
treasurer-tax collector, director of finance, consolidated
director of finance, or any office consolidated with the office
of treasurer or tax collector, unless they meet one of the
following criteria:
Has served in a senior financial management position in a
public agency for three years, including, but not limited to
treasurer, collector, auditor auditor-collector, or the chief
deputy or an assistant in those offices;
Possess a baccalaureate, masters, or doctoral degree from an
accredited college or university in a finance-related field;
Possess a certificate issued by the California Board of
Accounting;
Possess a charter issued by the Institute of Chartered
Financial Analysts; or
Possess a certificate from the Association for Financial
Analysts.
This bill applies the qualifications to any person elected or
appointed to the aforementioned offices on or after January 1,
2015.
This bill makes technical and updating changes.
Comments
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In response to Orange County's bankruptcy in 1994, SB 866
(Craven, Chapter 784, Statutes of 1995) increased oversight of
county investment practices. SB 866 required a person, in order
to be eligible for election or appointment to the office of
county treasurer, county tax collector, or county treasurer-tax
collector, to meet at least one of the following five criteria:
Serve in a senior financial management position in a public
agency for three years, including, but not limited to
treasurer, collector, auditor auditor-collector, or the chief
deputy or an assistant in those offices;
Possess a baccalaureate, masters, or doctoral degree from an
accredited college or university in a finance-related field;
Possess a certificate issued by the California Board of
Accounting;
Possess a charter issued by the Institute of Chartered
Financial Analysts; or
Possess a certificate from the Treasury Management
Association.
These qualifications become effective only if a county's board
of supervisors enacts an ordinance to adopt the requirements.
47 of California's 57 counties have voluntarily adopted the
qualifications. Two additional counties, Sacramento and Santa
Clara, have established director of finance offices under their
charter authority.
County treasurer-tax collectors and directors of finance 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 can range from several million
to billions of dollars. Qualifications for county treasurer-tax
collectors currently are optional, at the discretion of the
board of county supervisors. In contrast, county assessors,
district attorneys, sheriffs, and superintendents of schools all
must meet certain qualifications to be eligible for those
offices. This bill requires all counties to adopt minimum
qualifications for officers who perform the function of
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4
treasurers and tax collectors to ensure that those charged with
handling county financial resources are well trained and fully
qualified.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, reimbursable
mandate costs, primarily one-time and likely less than $50,000
General Fund. One-time costs for counties to establish
procedures for determining that a candidate meets the minimum
qualifications will likely only be reimbursable to the extent
that a county did not previously establish minimum
qualifications under current law. Ongoing reimbursable costs to
verify minimum qualifications for prospective candidates will
apply to all counties, but those costs should be minor.
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/23/14)
California Association of County Treasurers and Tax Collectors
(source)
Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The bill's sponsor, California
Association of County Treasurers and Tax Collectors, 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."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 73-0, 5/8/14
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian
Calderon, Campos, Chau, Ch�vez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley,
Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Fong, Fox,
Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon,
Grove, Hagman, Harkey, Roger Hern�ndez, Holden, Jones,
Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal, Maienschein,
Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Nestande,
Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon,
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5
Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner,
Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada, John A.
P�rez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Eggman, Gorell, Gray, Hall, Mansoor, V.
Manuel P�rez, Vacancy
AB:kd 6/25/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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