Government practices.

(1) Existing law sets forth the duties and powers of the Bureau of State Audits and makes reference to audits and investigative audits. Existing law also prohibits the State Auditor or his or her employees from releasing to the public, among other things, any papers, correspondence, or any substantive information pertaining to any audit not completed. This bill would revise the authority of the Bureau of State Audits to specifically perform investigations and would delete the reference to investigative audits. The bill would make conforming changes. (2) The California Whistleblower Protection Act sets forth the circumstances and procedures under which a state employee, as defined, may report improper governmental activities, as defined, or make a protected disclosure, as defined, to the State Auditor, and prohibits retaliation or reprisal against a state employee for these acts. This bill would add an individual appointed by the Legislature to a state board or commission and who is not a Member or employee of the Legislature to the list of state employees covered by these provisions and would provide that state employee includes any former employee who met specified criteria during his or her employment. The bill would change the definition of improper governmental activity to include any activity by an employee that is undertaken in the performance of the employee's duties, undertaken inside a state office, or, if undertaken outside a state office by the employee, directly relates to state government, whether or not that activity is within the scope of his or her employment, and would change the definition of protected disclosure to specifically include any good faith communication to the Bureau of State Audits alleging an improper governmental activity and any evidence delivered to the Bureau of State Audits in support of the allegation. The State Auditor also would be authorized to provide to the employees' appointing power any evidence gathered during the investigation that in his or her judgment is necessary to support an adverse action. The State Auditor would be required to create, as specified, the means for the submission of reports of improper governmental activity both by transmission via mail or other carrier to a specified mailing address and by electronic transmission through an Internet Web site portal. The State Auditor would be prohibited from disclosing the identity of a person who provides information in confidence to further an investigation, subject to specified exceptions. The State Auditor may include recommended actions to prevent the continuation or recurrence of the improper governmental activity with the report that details the improper governmental activity to the head of the employing agency.