Just in from California is this article from Capitol Weekly: the Newspaper of California Government and Politics in which California state Rep. Bob Blumenfield opines on California’s struggle to update its state false claims act.
As has been discussed on this blog many times, on May 20th of this year the federal False Claims Act was amended and, as a result, became a much more formidable tool in the fight against fraud waste and abuse of federal money. To my knowledge, however, no state government has yet updated its false claims acts to match the new federal statute, as California is trying to do. Largely, I hope, this is a result of the federal FCA amendments being signed into law after the close of most states’ legislative sessions.
I find it truly amazing that anyone in California’s state government would push back on amending the California False Claims Act. Over the last ten years, California has recovered, on average, more than $30 million per year with its FCA.
State Rep. Blumenfield also points out the bi-partisanship that exists at the federal level for FCA-related issues: for example, the amended False Claims Act passed 92-4 in the U.S. Senate and 367-59 in the House of Representatives. The bill was co-authored by Congressman Howard Berman (D-CA) and Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA).