The False Claims Act.

Existing law, the False Claims Act, provides that a person who commits any one of several enumerated acts relating to the submission to the state or a political subdivision of the state of a false claim for money, property, or services, as specified, shall be liable to the state or political subdivision for certain damages and a civil penalty. Existing federal law requires the Office of the Inspector General, in consultation with the United States Attorney General, to determine whether a state has a false claims act that qualifies the state for a 10-percentage-point increase under the Social Security Act in the state's share of any amounts recovered under that law, by, among other things, imposing a civil penalty that is not less than the amount of the civil penalty authorized under the Federal False Claims Act. Existing federal law, the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, requires federal agencies to adjust the levels of civil monetary penalties for inflation to improve the effectiveness of civil monetary penalties and to maintain their deterrent effect. This bill would specify that the fines imposed for violation of the False Claims Act shall be imposed as adjusted by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990.