Monrovia's Assemblyman Portantino Proposes Bill to Return Unspent Legislative Money to General Fund

Assembly member Anthony Portantino, who represents part of Monrovia, today introduced Assembly Bill 1887, which "calls on the State Controller to conduct a comprehensive and systematic audit of the state Legislature’s finances for a period of two years (2012-13 and 2013-14)." It also sets up procedures for future audits, "requires that the Assembly and Senate return any unused funds to the General Fund at the end of the legislative year," and "provides that line item monies allocated to the Senate and Assembly cannot be diverted to other agencies or programs unless such diversion is approved by a vote of the legislature and the signature of the Governor."

Opinion: Wow! Not that they're going to pass, but Portantino is on a roll with his open government proposals. I guess its a lot easier to stand up for your principles when you a) have some, b) have already ticked off the head of your own party - Speaker John Perez, c) don't mind ticking him off some more, and d) aren't planning to run for office in the near future. Good for Portantino.

- Brad Haugaard