Reform bills inspired by LAist investigation go before Newsom for final approval

Three state bills, inspired by LAist’s investigation into millions of unaccounted Orange County taxpayer dollars, have passed the legislature unanimously and now await Gov. Gavin Newsom’s decision on whether to sign them into law.

Two of the bills would require greater public transparency about elected officials’ family ties to certain types of contractors and, in some cases, ban them from participating in the allocation of funds. The other would require Orange County to publicly report how supervisors spend funds they often allocate outside of public view.

After introducing the three bills earlier this year, state lawmakers cited LAist’s investigation into OC Supervisor Andrew Do as motivating the reform efforts.

Earlier this year, as part of a months-long investigation, LAist uncovered more than $13 million in public money that Do gave to a little-known nonprofit, Viet America Society, which is run on and off by his 23-year-old daughter, Rhiannon Do. Most of that money was given to the group by Supervisor Do out of public view and never appeared on the agenda of public meetings. He has not publicly disclosed his family ties, which is not illegal.

Most of the money was intended to feed needy seniors during the pandemic. But last month, the county filed a lawsuit accusing Rhiannon Do and other leaders of the group of illegally diverting the money to buy homes in Orange County. Shortly after, federal agents searched homes belonging to Supervisor Do, Rhiannon Do, the nonprofit’s founder, Peter Pham, and other locations linked to the group. All three have denied any wrongdoing.

Invoice details

Senate Bill 1111 In California, it would be a crime for elected officials to participate in awarding government contracts to organizations if they know their child is an officer or director of the vendor, or owns at least 10% of the shares. Sen. Dave Min introduced the bill and said LAist’s reporting led him to tackle the issue. The bill has been significantly reduced since its introduction.

After the federal investigation, Min said in a written statement“I hope this news will further motivate the governor to sign my anti-corruption bill. I hope the Rebuilding Public Trust Act will put an end to this type of corruption and help restore public trust in our government.”

AB-3130 The bill was introduced by Reps. Sharon Quirk-Silva and Avelino Valencia. If signed by the governor, it would require county supervisors across the state to disclose any family ties they have to employees or officers of a nonprofit before the board of supervisors grants money to the group. Quirk-Silva said she introduced it in response to LAist’s inquiry. In a previous statement about the bill, she said requiring disclosure of family ties “preserves public trust and protects the integrity of government.”

AB-2946 The bill would impose new transparency requirements and restrictions on OC supervisors’ “district discretionary funds,” a type of funding that individual supervisors can award outside of public view, as Supervisor Do did to his daughter’s group. The bill would require a majority vote of the board of supervisors before discretionary funds are awarded to a nonprofit or community group.

It would also require transparency in the form of logs, published online by the county each quarter, showing how each supervisor spent the discretionary dollars and what the eligibility rules were for receiving the money.

Finally, the bill would prohibit supervisors running for re-election from allocating discretionary funds in the 90 days before the election. They also would not be able to announce or send out press releases about previously approved discretionary funds during that 90-day period. The bill is specific to Orange County and would not apply to other jurisdictions.

The deadline for Newsom to sign or veto the three bills is September 30. A spokesperson for his office told LAist that “the measures will be evaluated on their merits.”

There was no opposition to the two conflict of interest bills, according to the latest legislative staff analysis reports.

Orange County’s discretionary spending bill, however, has drawn formal opposition.

Opposition to AB-2946

At a board meeting in early June, Oxford County supervisors voted unanimously against AB-2946. In recommending opposition, county staff said the bill — among other things — could delay the board’s ability to fund community projects because it lacked a clear definition of the district’s discretionary funds.

The bill has since been amended by state lawmakers to address that concern.

The opposition’s recommendation, issued by the office of county legislative affairs director Peter DeMarco, also said the 90-day restriction “could infringe on the First Amendment rights of elected officials, their candidates and the press by prohibiting speech.”

Various nonprofit groups in the county have also registered their opposition to the bill, including the Boys & Girls Clubs of Fullerton, Abound Food Care, the Orange County Cemetery District and HomeAid Orange County.

Catch up on LAist’s investigation so far

In November 2023, LAist began investigating how millions of dollars of public taxpayer money was spent. In total, LAist uncovered more than $13 million in public money that was approved for a little-known nonprofit that, according to government records, was run on and off by Rhiannon Do, Supervisor Do’s now 23-year-old daughter. Most of this money was given to the group by Supervisor Do out of public view and never appeared on the agenda of public meetings. He has not publicly disclosed his family ties.

Much of the known funding comes from federal coronavirus relief money.

• Read the story who launched the investigation here.
• Since we started reporting, we have also discovered that the group is two years late by conducting a mandatory audit to determine whether funds intended for meals were spent appropriately.
• And we found out that the amount of taxpayer money going to the nonprofit was much larger than initially thoughtThe county’s total funding is at least $13.5 million, according to government data obtained and published by LAist.
• After our report, the CO officials wrote cease and desist letters to the nonprofit They claimed that millions of dollars in funding had not been accounted for. They warned that the company could be forced to repay the funds.
• And we found the non-profit association I missed a deadline set up by county officials to provide proof of how meal funds were spent.
• On August 2, LAist reported OC officials were demanding the return of more than $3 million in public funds that Do gave to VAS and another nonprofit, Hand to Hand.
• Six days later, LAist reported that Orange County officials had extended refund requests millions of dollars in taxes from nonprofits and threatened legal action.
• On August 15, LAist reported OC officials have sued VAS and its key executives and associated companies, including Rhiannon DoThe lawsuit alleges that county money was illegally used to purchase five homes and was converted to cash through ATM transactions.
• Then, on August 19, LAist reported that OC officials had announced a second lawsuit against Hand to hand and its CEO to recover millions of taxpayer dollars that were directed by Supervisor Do.
• LAiste announced the news on August 22 that federal agents were searching Rhiannon Do’s home in Tustin. Later in the day, Supervisor Do’s home and other properties were also searched.
• On September 10, the OC Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to remove Supervisor Do from his duties on the committee, including his role as a member of the Orange County Transportation Authority board.