Whistleblowers: California State Auditor.

Existing law creates the California State Auditor's Office, which is independent of the executive branch and legislative control, to examine and report annually upon the financial statements prepared by the executive branch. Existing law exempts the California State Auditor from specific provisions of existing law relating to oversight by state control agencies, including specific provisions relating to employment, administration, contracting, fiscal matters, and the adoption of regulations. Existing law, the California Whistleblower Protection Act, authorizes the auditor to conduct an investigative audit upon receiving specific information that an employee or state agency has engaged in an improper governmental activity, as defined. The act requires the auditor to establish a means of submitting allegations of improper governmental activity, and generally requires the auditor to keep confidential every investigation, including all investigative files and work product. This bill would require the auditor to create an alternative system for submission to an independent investigator of allegations of improper governmental activity engaged or participated in by employees of the office. The bill would require submissions to be delivered to the Employment and Administrative Mandate Section of the Department of Justice without prior review by the auditor. The bill would require the section to review submissions and, if it determines that a submission constitutes an allegation of improper governmental activity, to transmit the submission to the independent investigator for further action. The bill would define "improper governmental activity" and "independent investigator" for its purposes. The bill would require the independent investigator to conduct investigations in a manner consistent with provisions of the act relating to other state civil service employees. The bill would require the independent investigator, if he or she finds that the facts support a conclusion that an employee engaged or participated in improper governmental activities, to prepare a confidential investigative report and, subject to specific limitations, send a copy of the report and gathered evidence to the auditor and certain other persons within the office. The bill would require the independent investigator, if the independent investigator determines it to be appropriate, to report this information to the Attorney General, to the policy committees of the Senate and Assembly having jurisdiction over the subject involved, and to any other authority that the independent investigator determines appropriate. The bill would authorize the independent investigator, subject to specific limitations, to provide to the auditor any evidence gathered during the investigation that, in the judgment of the independent investigator, is necessary to support any of the report's recommendations. The bill would require the auditor to report specific information to the independent investigator. The bill would require the independent investigator, if the auditor elects not to take adverse action, to notify the Joint Legislative Audit Committee (JLAC) of the report and, upon request, to provide JLAC a copy as prescribed. The bill would authorize the independent investigator to seek consent from the State Personnel Board to file disciplinary charges if the office does not.