BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  SB 1337
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   July 2, 2014

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                  Mike Gatto, Chair

                  SB 1337 (DeSaulnier) - As Amended:  May 27, 2014 

          Policy Committee:                              
          AccountabilityVote:13-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:               

           SUMMARY  

          This bill:

          1)Requires every report submitted to the Legislature by any  
            state agency or department to include a statement signed by  
            the head of the agency or department that the contents of the  
            report are true, accurate, and complete, to the best of their  
            knowledge. 

          2)States that (1) applies to the executive officers of the  
            Franchise Tax Board and Board of Equalization, to elected  
            state officials and any official whose duties are prescribed  
            by the California Constitution.

          3)Makes anyone violating the above liable for a civil penalty of  
            up to $20,000 in an action brought by the Attorney General.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Potential, likely minor, absorbable costs to the Attorney  
          General for investigation and prosecution, offset to some extent  
          by fine revenue.

           COMMENTS  

           1)Purpose  . According to the author's office, currently heads of  
            state departments or agencies have no liability for  
            misrepresenting facts in reports to the legislature or a state  
            executive body. The author notes that the construction of the  
            new eastern span of the Bay Bridge was 10 years late and over  
            $5 billion over budget. This project particularly illustrated  








                                                                  SB 1337
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            how problematic it can be when department and agency heads are  
            not held accountable.

           2)Prior Legislation  . This bill is substantially similar to AB  
            1135 (Strickland) of 2007, AB 2404 (Klehs) of 2006 and AB 1625  
            (Klehs) of 2005, all of which were vetoed by Governor  
            Schwarzenegger. In his veto of AB 2404, the Governor stated,  
            "?this bill would create an inconsistent system in which some  
            of the information considered in the legislative process is  
            subject to declarations of truth, while the majority of the  
            written material used in the legislative process is accepted  
            as truth without such verification. The Legislature already  
            has the authority to question the accuracy of a report by  
            requiring those responsible for submitting the report to  
            attest to the accuracy of the report under oath. Given this  
            legislative oversight?this bill is unnecessary."

           3)Opposition  . The Department of Finance contends this bill is  
            unnecessary and could result in additional state costs.

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081