8543-8545.5

GOVERNMENT CODE
SECTION 8543-8545.5




8543.  There is hereby created in state government the Bureau of
State Audits under the direction of the Milton Marks "Little Hoover"
Commission on California State Government Organization and Economy.
In order to be free of organizational impairments to independence,
the bureau shall be independent of the executive branch and
legislative control.



8543.1.  The duties of the Bureau of State Audits are 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. For the purposes of this chapter "bureau" means the "Bureau
of State Audits," unless the context clearly requires otherwise.



8543.2.  (a) The head of the bureau is the State Auditor, who shall
be appointed by the Governor from a list of three qualified
individuals nominated by the Joint Legislative Audit Committee by a
vote of at least a majority of the committee membership from each
house of the Legislature. The term of any individual appointed as the
State Auditor shall be four years. Any vacancy in the office shall
be filled in the same manner provided by this subdivision for a full
term.
   (b) As the head of the bureau, the State Auditor may establish
constituent parts of the bureau to carry out the powers and duties of
the bureau unless otherwise specified by law.
   (c) The bureau has a Chief Deputy State Auditor.



8543.3.  The State Auditor shall be chosen without reference to
party affiliation and solely on the ground of fitness to perform the
duties of the office. Prior to selection, the State Auditor shall
possess a combination of education and experience in auditing and
management necessary to perform the duties of the office.




8543.4.



8543.5.  The Chief Deputy State Auditor shall be appointed by the
State Auditor. The Chief Deputy State Auditor shall carry out those
duties prescribed by the State Auditor and shall act for the State
Auditor when the State Auditor is absent or unable to serve or when
the office of the State Auditor is vacant. The tenure of any
incumbent Chief Deputy State Auditor shall expire on any date that an
individual is appointed State Auditor, but any incumbent Chief
Deputy State Auditor may be reappointed pursuant to this section.



8543.6.  The State Auditor may be removed for cause at any time by
concurrent resolution of the Legislature. A State Auditor removed
pursuant to this section may not be reappointed to the office.



8543.7.  (a) The annual salary for the State Auditor shall be equal
to that of agency secretaries of the executive branch of government
pursuant to Section 11550.
   (b) The State Auditor shall be repaid all actual expenses incurred
or paid by him or her in the discharge of his or her duties.



8544.  (a) Consistent with subdivision (i) of Section 8546, the
State Auditor may employ and fix the compensation, in accordance with
Article VII of the California Constitution, of those professional
assistants and technical, clerical, deputy state auditors, and other
officers and employees as he or she deems necessary for the effective
conduct of the work under his or her charge.
   (b) In establishing and adjusting classes of positions, and
establishing and adjusting salary ranges for each class of position,
to provide for the continued ability to attract and maintain
qualified individuals within the Bureau of State Audits,
consideration shall be given to the fact that the level of education,
experience, knowledge, and ability required of the employees in the
bureau is generally higher than that of state service generally, due
to the unique duties and responsibilities imposed on the bureau and
the relatively small number of employees.
   (c) When fixing compensation for employees, the State Auditor
shall consider prevailing rates for comparable service in other
public employment and private business.




8544.2.  Persons employed by the bureau pursuant to Section 8544.1
shall be allowed to enroll in the Public Employees' Medical and
Hospital Care Act contained in Part 5 (commencing with Section 22751)
of Division 5 of Title 2.


8544.3.  All persons employed by the bureau pursuant to Section
8544.1 who were members of the Public Employees' Retirement System as
of November 3, 1992, shall retain their existing classification
within the system and shall be considered state miscellaneous members
as defined in Section 20014.



8544.4.  The permanent office of the State Auditor shall be in
Sacramento, where he or she shall be provided with suitable and
sufficient offices. When in his or her judgment the conduct of the
work requires, he or she may maintain offices at other places in the
state.



8544.5.  (a) There is hereby established in the State Treasury the
State Audit Fund. Notwithstanding Section 13340, the State Audit Fund
is continuously appropriated for the expenses of the State Auditor.
There shall be appropriated annually in the Budget Act to the State
Audit Fund, from the General Fund and the Central Service Cost
Recovery Fund, the amount necessary to reimburse the State Audit Fund
for the cost of audits to be performed that are not directly
reimbursed under subdivision (c). "Cost of audits" means all direct
and indirect costs of conducting the audits and any other expenses
incurred by the State Auditor in fulfilling his or her statutory
responsibilities.
   (b) With regard to the funds appropriated pursuant to subdivision
(a), upon certification by the State Auditor of estimated costs on a
monthly basis, the Controller shall transfer the amount thus
certified from the General Fund or the Central Service Cost Recovery
Fund, as applicable, to the State Audit Fund. The Controller shall
thereafter issue warrants drawn against the State Audit Fund upon
receipt of claims certified by the State Auditor.
   (c) To ensure appropriate reimbursement from federal and special
funds for the costs of the duties performed pursuant to Section
8546.3, the State Auditor may directly bill state agencies for the
costs incurred, subject to the approval of the Director of Finance.
   (d) To ensure adequate oversight of the operations of the bureau,
the Milton Marks "Little Hoover" Commission on California State
Government Organization and Economy shall annually obtain the
services of an independent public accountant to audit the State Audit
Fund and the operation of the bureau to assure compliance with state
law, including Section 8546. The results of this audit shall be
submitted to the commission and shall be a public record.
   (e) To ensure that audits of the Milton Marks "Little Hoover"
Commission on California State Government Organization and Economy
are conducted in conformity with government auditing standards, any
audit of the commission that is required or permitted by law shall be
conducted by the independent public accountant selected pursuant to
subdivision (d).


8544.6.  All unreimbursed expenditures of the bureau are defined as
"administrative costs" defined in Section 11270.



8545.  The State Auditor shall not destroy any papers or memoranda
used to support a completed audit sooner than three years after the
audit report is released to the public. All books, papers, records,
and correspondence of the bureau pertaining to its work are public
records subject to Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 6250) of
Division 7 of Title 1 and shall be filed at any of the regularly
maintained offices of the State Auditor, except that none of the
following items or papers of which these items are a part shall be
released to the public by the State Auditor, his or her employees, or
members of the commission:
   (a) Personal papers and correspondence of any person providing
assistance to the State Auditor when that person has requested in
writing that his or her papers and correspondence be kept private and
confidential. Those papers and correspondence shall become public
records if the written request is withdrawn or upon the order of the
State Auditor.
   (b) Papers, correspondence, memoranda, or any substantive
information pertaining to any audit not completed.
   (c) Papers, correspondence, or memoranda pertaining to any audit
that has been completed, which papers, correspondence, or memoranda
are not used in support of any report resulting from the audit.




8545.1.  (a) The State Auditor, and any employee or former employee
of the bureau, shall not divulge or make known to any person not
employed by the bureau in any manner not expressly permitted by law
any particulars of any record, document, or information the
disclosure of which is restricted by law from release to the public.
This prohibition includes, but is not limited to, the restrictions on
the release of records, documents, or information set forth in
Section 8545.
   (b) Subdivision (a) also applies to either of the following:
   (1) Any person or business entity that is contracting with or has
contracted with the bureau and to the employees and former employees
of that person or business entity.
   (2) The officers and employees of and any person or business
entity that is contracting with or has contracted with any state or
local governmental agency or publicly created entity that has
assisted the bureau in the course of any audit or investigation or
that has received a draft copy of any report or other draft document
from the bureau for comment or review.
   (c) Any officer, employee, or person who discloses the particulars
of any record, document, or other information in violation of this
section is guilty of a misdemeanor.



8545.2.  (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the State
Auditor during regular business hours shall have access to and
authority to examine and reproduce, any and all books, accounts,
reports, vouchers, correspondence files, and all other records, bank
accounts, and money or other property, of any agency of the state,
whether created by the California Constitution or otherwise, any
local governmental entity, including any city, county, and school or
special district, and any publicly created entity, for any audit or
investigation. Any officer or employee of any agency or entity having
these records or property in his or her possession, under his or her
control, or otherwise having access to them, shall permit access to,
and examination and reproduction thereof, upon the request of the
State Auditor or his or her authorized representative.
   (b) For the purposes of access to and examination and reproduction
of the records and property described in subdivision (a), an
authorized representative of the State Auditor is an employee or
officer of the state or local governmental agency or publicly created
entity involved and is subject to any limitations on release of the
information as may apply to an employee or officer of the state or
local governmental agency or publicly created entity. For the purpose
of conducting any audit or investigation, the State Auditor or his
or her authorized representative shall have access to the records and
property of any public or private entity or person subject to review
or regulation by the public agency or public entity being audited or
investigated to the same extent that employees or officers of that
agency or public entity have access. No provision of law providing
for the confidentiality of any records or property shall prevent
disclosure pursuant to subdivision (a), unless the provision
specifically refers to and precludes access and examination and
reproduction pursuant to subdivision (a). This subdivision does not
apply to records compiled pursuant to Part 1 (commencing with Section
8900) or Part 2 (commencing with Section 10200) of Division 2.
   (c) Any officer or person who fails or refuses to permit access
and examination and reproduction, as required by this section, is
guilty of a misdemeanor.



8545.3.  It is a misdemeanor for the State Auditor or any employee
of the State Auditor to release any information received pursuant to
Section 10850 of the Welfare and Institutions Code or that is
otherwise prohibited by law to be disclosed.




8545.4.  (a) In connection with any audit or investigation conducted
by the State Auditor, the State Auditor or his or her designee, may
do any of the following:
   (1) Administer oaths.
   (2) Certify to all official acts.
   (3) Issue subpoenas for the attendance of witnesses and the
production of papers, books, accounts, or documents, or for the
making of oral or written sworn statements, in any interview
conducted as part of an audit or investigation.
   (b) Any subpoena issued under this section extends as process to
all parts of the state and may be served by any person authorized to
serve process of courts of record or by any person designated for
that purpose by the State Auditor or his or her designee. The person
serving this process may receive compensation as allowed by the State
Auditor or his or her designee, not to exceed the fees prescribed by
law for similar service.
   (c) Notwithstanding Section 7470, 7474, or 7491, subpoenas issued
under this section for financial records of financial institutions
concerning customers of financial institutions or for information
contained in those records shall not be subject to the requirement or
conditions of Section 7474.


8545.5.  (a) The superior court in the county in which any interview
is held under the direction of the State Auditor or his or her
designee has jurisdiction to compel the attendance of witnesses, the
making of oral or written sworn statements, and the production of
papers, books, accounts, and documents, as required by any subpoena
issued by the State Auditor or his or her designee.
   (b) If any witness refuses to attend or testify or produce any
papers required by the subpoena, the State Auditor or his or her
designee may petition the superior court in the county in which the
hearing is pending for an order compelling the person to attend and
answer questions under penalty of perjury or produce the papers
required by the subpoena before the person named in the subpoena. The
petition shall set forth all of the following:
   (1) That due notice of the time and place of attendance of the
person or the production of the papers has been given.
   (2) That the person has been subpoenaed in the manner prescribed
in Section 8545.4.
   (3) That the person has failed and refused to attend or produce
the papers required by subpoena before the State Auditor or his or
her designee as named in the subpoena, or has refused to answer
questions propounded to him or her in the course of the interview
under penalty of perjury.
   (c) Upon the filing of the petition, the court shall enter an
order directing the person to appear before the court at a specified
time and place and then and there show cause why he or she has not
attended, answered questions under penalty of perjury, or produced
the papers as required. A copy of the order shall be served upon him
or her. If it appears to the court that the subpoena was regularly
issued by the State Auditor or his or her designee, the court shall
enter an order that the person appear before the person named in the
subpoena at the time and place fixed in the order and answer
questions under penalty of perjury or produce the required papers.
Upon failure to obey the order, the person shall be dealt with as for
contempt of court.