Criminal penalties to be imposed on anyone obstructing State Auditor or Auditor staff
Sacramento, CA – This afternoon, Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi (D-Torrance), Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco) and Assemblymember Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento) announced the introduction of a new bill to create criminal penalties for obstructing the State Auditor or the Auditor’s representatives in the course of an audit.
“This bill will make it a crime to intentionally interfere with a State Auditor investigation,” said Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, Chair of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee (JLAC). “We want to give the State Auditor the necessary tools to ensure transparency and accountability. The University of California (UC) is a world-class university system, and as a proud Cal Bear and UCLA Bruin, I want the UC to continue to be a national and global leader in education and research. To do so, the Legislature should exercise proper legislative oversight to make sure that the UC is spending state dollars properly.”
“Audits are essential to conducting robust oversight and ensuring transparency within state government,” said Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco). “It’s outrageous that anyone would willingly and knowingly tamper with an audit. Anyone who does should pay the price. Without good information we cannot ensure we are meeting the needs of Californians.”
“Taxpayers deserve fair and independent oversight of California’s State agencies,” said Assemblymember Kevin McCarty (D- Sacramento). “Interfering with state audits hurts the public’s trust and undermines the authority of the State Auditor to examine our public agencies impartially.”
The bill will be introduced in the next month.
CONTACT: Kerry Townsend Jacob, 310-806-0893