Existing law under the Government Code authorizes a city, county, or city and county auditor or controller to maintain a whistleblower hotline to receive calls from persons who have information regarding fraud, waste, or abuse by local government employees. The auditor or controller may then refer calls received on the hotline to the appropriate government authority for review and possible investigation. During the initial review of a call, the auditor, controller, or other appropriate governmental agency must hold in confidence information disclosed through the whistleblower hotline, as specified. Upon receiving specific information that an employee or local government has engaged in an improper government activity, the auditor or controller may conduct an investigative audit of the matter.
Existing law requires the identity of the individual or individuals reporting the improper government activity and the subject employee or employees to be kept confidential and defines “fraud, waste, or abuse” to mean any activity by a local agency or employee that is undertaken in the performance of the employee’s official duties, as described, that is in violation of any local, state, or federal law or regulation relating to, among other things, corruption.
Assembly Bill 2455 (AB 2455) is known as the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act. Under AB 2455, instead of referring calls to the proper government authority, the law authorizes the auditor or controller, or auditor’s or controller’s designee, to conduct an investigative audit of the matter upon receiving specific information that an employee or local government has engaged in a fraud, waste, or abuse or improper governmental activity.
AB 2455 also amends the Government Code’s definition of “fraud, waste, or abuse” to also define “improper governmental activity,” and expand the scope of those terms to include activity by a local agency, employee, or contractor or subcontractor.
(AB 2455 amends sections 8547.2, 8547.5, 8547.7, and 53087.6 of the Government Code.)