California Assembly Republican Caucus
Lawmakers demand accountability following major hospice fraud arrests and years of ignored warnings.
SACRAMENTO — Assembly Republicans today demanded a special session of the Legislature to crack down on widespread fraud across California’s state programs, during a press conference at the State Capitol.
The call comes after Attorney General Rob Bonta announced arrests in a major hospice fraud ring, the latest example of what Republicans say is a much larger problem that Sacramento has failed to address.
In a letter sent to Governor Gavin Newsom earlier today, Assembly Republican Leader Heath Flora and members of the caucus pointed to new estimates that California may have lost at least $180 billion to fraud across state programs, based on audits, public records, and prior investigations.
“The Governor says he’s been going after fraud since day one. If that’s true, why are arrests only being reported now?” said Assembly Republican Leader Heath Flora. “It should not take public pressure to get results. Californians deserve answers.”
Republicans noted that increased enforcement actions have come only after growing public scrutiny, including reporting and investigations from individuals like Nick Shirley, Assemblymember Alexandra Macedo, and others, that brought renewed attention to fraud and abuse across the state.
But now, reports are circulating that Democrats are advancing legislation that would restrict the release of investigative videos and impose penalties on watchdogs who expose fraud.
Despite continued efforts from Sacramento to deflect and downplay the problem, Assembly Republicans are calling for a special session to determine the full scope of fraud, expose failures in oversight, and take action to protect taxpayer dollars.
“What is most frustrating for me is that not only are we unwilling to investigate fraud, but our legislature is quite literally moving in the opposite direction,” said Assemblymember Josh Hoover. “Bills that would hide documents on high-speed rail accountability, bills that would increase the cost of Public Records Act so that the public has less access to what is going on, bills that would criminalize investigative journalism, such as AB 2624. We need a special session on this, and I urge the supermajority to take this seriously.”
Click here to download the high-quality video and here to view photos from the press conference. To view the full letter Assembly Republicans sent to Newsom requesting a special session, click here.