(a) The State Auditor may request the assistance of any state department, agency, or employee in evaluating an allegation or conducting any investigation of an improper governmental activity as authorized by this article. In response to a request for assistance from the State Auditor, that state department, agency, or employee shall provide the assistance, including, but not limited to, providing access to documents or other information in a timely manner, as required by Section 8545.2. If an investigation conducted by the State Auditor involves access to confidential academic peer review records of University of California academic personnel, these records shall be provided in a form consistent with university policy effective on August 1, 1992. No information obtained from the State Auditor by any department, agency, or employee as a result of the State Auditor’s request for assistance, nor any information obtained thereafter as a result of further investigation, shall be divulged or made known to any person without the prior approval of the State Auditor.

(b) As an alternative to conducting its own investigation, if the State Auditor determines that there is reasonable cause to believe that a state agency or employee may have engaged in an improper governmental activity, the State Auditor, subject to the limitations of Section 8547.5, may refer the allegation to the involved state agency, or to another state agency having direct oversight of the involved state agency, to conduct an investigation of the allegation under the State Auditor’s supervision. If the State Auditor refers an allegation to the involved state agency or to another state agency having direct oversight of the involved state agency, that state agency shall investigate the allegation and report the results of the investigation to the State Auditor within 60 days of the referral and monthly thereafter until final action has been taken. In addition, whenever the State Auditor determines that there is reasonable cause to believe that a state agency or employee may have engaged in an improper governmental activity, the State Auditor, subject to the limitations of Section 8547.5, may refer the allegation to a criminal or administrative law enforcement agency in lieu of conducting or supervising an investigation of the matter.

(Amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 328, Sec. 7. (AB 1102) Effective January 1, 2012.)