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Marc Carrel, CABOC Chair Legislation Committee
will present the CABOC's 2023 legislative proposal.
-- Marc Carrel has served on numerous state and local boards. He currently serves as a county commissioner on the Los Angeles County Building Board of Appeals and is a member of the Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee for the Beverly Hills Unified School District. He previously served as a Los Angeles County Aviation Commissioner, a Sacramento County Human Rights/Fair Housing Commissioner, a State Lands Commissioner, Vice Chair of the California Voting Systems and Procedures Panel, and on the Sacramento City USD’s CBOC. He is a member of the State Bar of California and the District of Columbia Bar.
Ethan Rarick, Executive Director, Little Hoover Commission, will discuss the role of the Commission. In a letter to State Treasurer Fiona Ma, Commission Chair Pedro Nava said, “The Commission looks forward to reviewing any legislation introduced on this topic in the coming year and will consider potential support of specific legislative language at that time.”
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Since the year 2000, Prop 39, related statutes, and countless bond measures across California have promised voters the appointment of "independent" citizens' bond oversight committees (CBOCs) with authority to exercise "strict oversight" whenever bond approval is set at 55%, instead of 2/3 of voters. With $181 billion approved by voters under Prop 39, over 500 CBOCs now exist in California.
-- In practice, many CBOCs are neither independent nor capable of exercising meaningful oversight responsibilities. As one witness before the Little Hoover Commission said in 2017, "The watchdog has no bite.” The Commission has pulled no punches in calling for legislation to "update and overhaul the education code related to the Strict Accountability in Local School Construction Bonds Act of 2000"- i.e., Prop 39
-- It is long past time for California legislators to take action to fulfill promises of accountability and effective citizen oversight of millions of dollars of taxpayer funds now spent every year on school facilities.
-- CABOC has proposed legislation that aligns with the Little Hoover Commission's recommended statutory changes to affirm the independence of CBOCs and bolster their effectiveness. This proposal is consistent with the general principles found in Education Code 15274: "vigorous efforts are undertaken [to ensure] that bond measures are in strict conformity to the law."
Little Hoover Commission (Reports: June 2009, Bond Spending: Expanding & Enhancing Oversight #197 and Report #236, February 2017, Borrowed Money: Opportunities for Stronger Bond Oversight) based on testimony from taxpayers and other organizations, including Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, League of Women Voters of California, California State PTA, California Association of County Treasurers and Tax Collectors, Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team, State Controller, State Auditor, State Allocation Board and Education Audit Appeal Panel.
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