Inland Lawmaker Seeks Protections for Legislative Whistleblowers

By City News Service:

An Inland Empire lawmaker’s bill seeking to establish protections for legislative staffers who report ethics or other breaches by members of the Assembly and state Senate cleared a major hurdle Tuesday.

The Assembly Judiciary Committee voted 10-0 in favor of Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez’s “Legislative Employee Whistleblower Protection Act.”

“Accountability and transparency are the pillars a responsible government is built upon and one that is worthy of the public’s trust,” said Melendez, R-Lake Elsinore. “Legislative employees have a unique opportunity given their proximity to legislators to ensure these pillars by reporting any unethical behavior.”

AB 289 would entitle legislators’ staff members to the same protections extended to employees in state agencies and the courts under the Whistleblower Protection Act enacted in 1999.

According to Melendez’s proposal, staffers would be free to file ethics complaints or other official allegations of wrongdoing by lawmakers without fear of retaliation.

She wants provisions of existing law to be universally applied, so that any member of the Legislature or his or her agent would be subject to penalties for using “official authority or influence for the purpose of intimidating, threatening, coercing or commanding” a whistleblower who might be dissuaded from exposing misdeeds.

AB 289 would potentially open up a lawmaker or other alleged violator of the Legislative Employee Whistleblower Protection Act to fines of up to $10,000, a misdemeanor criminal conviction, civil suits and other actions.

“If the Legislature is truly committed to eradicating corruption, this bill should pass through both houses with overwhelming support,” Melendez said.

She introduced a similar measure, AB 2065, in the 2013-14 legislative session. That proposal, too, received unanimous support in the Assembly Judiciary Committee but died in the Senate Appropriations Committee, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office.

AB 289 is now bound for the Assembly Rules Committee for another hearing.

Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez represents the 67th Assembly District, which includes the communities of Lake Elsinore, Canyon Lake, Murrieta, Menifee, Wildomar and a portion of Hemet. It also includes the Riverside County unincorporated areas of Lake Mathews, Good Hope, Nuevo, and Winchester.

(Image via Shutterstock)