Reform bills inspired by LAist investigation signed into law by Newsom

Two state bills, inspired by LAist’s investigation into millions of taxpayer dollars in Orange County that are unaccounted for, were signed into law by California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Saturday.

The new laws will go into effect Jan. 1.

• AB-2946 will require a majority vote by the Orange County Board of Supervisors before discretionary funds are awarded to a nonprofit or community group. The supervisors will also be required to post details of how the money was spent online.
• AB-3130 will require county supervisors across the state to disclose any family ties they have to a nonprofit’s employees or officers before any board awards money to the group.

“(W)e are taking a crucial step towards restoring public trust in how district discretionary funds are managed in Orange County,” Assemblymember Avelino Valencia said in a statement Monday, responding to the signing of AB 2946. “This law will provide the necessary oversight and transparency to ensure that taxpayer dollars are spent responsibly.”

The backstory

Earlier this year, as part of a months-long investigation, LAist uncovered more than $13 million in public money that Do directed to a little-known nonprofit, Viet America Society, led on and off by his now 23-year-old daughter, Rhiannon Do. Around $6.2 million of this money was from Supervisor Do’s discretionary funds. Most of that money was directed to the group by Supervisor Do outside of the public’s view and never appeared on public meeting agendas. He did not publicly disclose his family ties, which is not illegal.

Most of the money was meant to feed needy seniors during the pandemic. Last month, the county filed a lawsuit alleging Rhiannon Do and other leaders at the group instead illegally diverted the money into buying themselves homes in Orange County. Soon after, federal agents searched houses owned by Supervisor Do, Rhiannon Do, the nonprofit’s founder, Peter Pham, and other locations connected to the group. All three have denied wrongdoing.

Another bill awaiting Newsom’s signature

Senate Bill 1111 would make it a crime in California for elected officials to be involved in awarding government contracts to organizations if they know their child is an officer or director of the vendor, or has at least 10% ownership. State Sen. Dave Min introduced the bill, and said LAist’s reporting led him to take on the issue. The bill has been significantly narrowed since it was introduced.

Newsom has until Sept. 30 to sign the bill into law.

Catch up on the investigation

In November 2023, LAist began investigating how millions in public taxpayer dollars were spent. In total, LAist has uncovered more than $13 million in public money that was approved to a little-known nonprofit that records state was led on and off by Rhiannon Do, the now 23-year-old daughter of Supervisor Do. Most of that money was directed to the group by Supervisor Do outside of the public’s view and never appeared on public meeting agendas. He did not publicly disclose his family ties.

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

• Read the story that launched the investigation here.
• Since we started reporting, we’ve also discovered the group was two years overdue in completing a required audit into whether the meal funds were spent appropriately.
• And we found the amount of taxpayer money directed to the nonprofit was much larger than initially known. It totals at least $13.5 million in county funding — tallied from government records obtained and published by LAist.
• After our reporting, OC officials wrote request letters to the nonprofit saying millions in funding were unaccounted for. They warned it could be forced to repay the funds.
• And, we found the nonprofit missed a deadline set by county officials to provide proof about how funding for meals were spent.
• On Aug. 2, LAist reported OC officials were demanding the refund of more than $3 million in public funds awarded by Do to VAS and another nonprofit, Hand to Hand.
• Six days later, LAist reported Orange County officials had expanded demands for refunds of millions in tax dollars from the nonprofits and threatened legal action.
• On Aug. 15, LAist reported OC officials sued VAS and its key officers and associated businesses, including Rhiannon Do. The lawsuit alleges that county money was illegally used to purchase five homes and was converted into cash through ATM transactions.
• Then, on Aug. 19, LAist reported 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.
• LAist broke the news on Aug. 22 that federal agents were searching Rhiannon Do’s home in Tustin. Later that day, Supervisor Do’s home, and other properties, were also raided.
• On Sept. 10, the OC Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to remove Supervisor Do from his committee assignments, including his role as a board member for the Orange County Transportation Authority.
• Three bills inspired by LAist’s investigation which will increase public transparency are now awaiting Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature.

How to watchdog local government

One of the best things you can do to hold officials accountable is pay attention.

Your city council, board of supervisors, school board and more all hold public meetings that anybody can attend. These are times you can talk to your elected officials directly and hear about the policies they’re voting on that affect your community.