Existing law prohibits any person from being unlawfully denied full and equal access to the benefits of, or from being unlawfully subjected to discrimination under, any program or activity that is conducted, operated, or administered by the state or by any state agency funded directly by the state, or that receives any financial assistance from the state, on the basis of race. Existing law prohibits the state, including any county, from discriminating against, or granting preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting. Existing law prohibits the inclusion of any question relative to an applicant’s race in any application blank or form required to be filled in and submitted by an applicant to any department, board, commission, officer, agent, or employee of this state. Existing law makes a violation of this provision a misdemeanor.

Existing law requires the Controller to superintend the fiscal concerns of the state and to audit all claims against the state. Existing law requires the Controller to suggest plans for the improvement and management of the public revenues. Existing law requires the Controller to summon county auditors to meet with the Controller at least once each year for the purpose of discussion, among other things, promotion of uniformity of procedure in all matters pertaining to the duties of county auditors throughout the state.

This bill would require the Controller, on or before January 1, 2025, and every 5 years thereafter, to perform a comprehensive antiracism audit, as defined, of each state agency and county. The bill would require each state agency and county, within one year following completion of its audit, to establish and implement an action plan, as specified, tailored to the function of the agency or particular activities of the county, to rectify deficiencies in the agency’s or county’s efforts to identify, interrupt, and dismantle racist practices, policies, and attitudes identified by the antiracism audit. Because the bill would require local officials to perform additional duties, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

This bill would require the Controller to evaluate and approve the sufficiency of each action plan to rectify deficiencies in the agency’s or county’s efforts to identify, interrupt, and dismantle racist practices, policies, and attitudes. The bill would authorize the Controller, if they determine that appropriate progress has not been made by a state agency or county toward rectifying deficiencies identified in the antiracism audit within 3 years following completion of the action plan, to impose a civil penalty or to bring an action in a court of appropriate jurisdiction to hold all property of the state agency or county subject to a receivership in a manner directed or ratified by the court. The bill would require the Controller to establish rules and regulations to carry out the purposes of this section.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.