Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill Aug. 27 requiring greater public disclosure and oversight when Alameda County supervisors award discretionary funds to nonprofit organizations.
Senate Bill 1193, authored by State Senator Aisha Wahab (D-Hayward), requires grants by individual supervisors to receive approval from a majority of the five-member Alameda County Board of Supervisors. The law takes effect Jan. 1, 2027.
“SB 1193 is about one thing: public accountability for public dollars,” Wahab said when presenting the bill to the Senate on May 19.
Discretionary funds allow supervisors to direct county money to nonprofits and projects within their districts. The San Francisco Chronicle calculated up to $51 million over the past seven years. The grants may support health and human services, education, homelessness services, cultural resources and other community programs.
Wahab said the legislation was necessary due to a pattern of failures involving Alameda County spending and governance. A 2017 grand jury report criticized then-Supervisor Keith Carson for awarding $710,000 to Oakland and the World Enterprises, a nonprofit run by Elaine Brown. Brown called the report, “a blatant lie.”
Wahab also pointed to other civil grand jury reports, litigation, state and federal investigations and media reports examining county operations over the past decade.
“When public funds are distributed without clear rules, public votes, online reporting, whistleblower protections or conflict-of-interest safeguards, it creates room for favoritism, political influence and misuse of taxpayer dollars,” Wahab said.
New law requires transparency of discretionary grants
Under SB 1193, each proposed award must identify the recipient, explain its public purpose and describe how it would provide resources of communitywide significance within the sponsoring supervisor’s district.
The law prohibits discretionary grants from being approved on the board’s consent calendar, where numerous routine items can be passed through a single vote, or during special meetings. The grants must instead be considered individually during regular board meetings.
Alameda County must also publish a quarterly online record listing the grants’ recipients, planned and actual costs, spending timelines, eligibility requirements, purposes, and total amounts awarded.
The record must include applicable conflict-of-interest statements from supervisors, supervisorial staff, and certain county administrators who participated in awarding the money. The county’s website must also provide information about submitting whistleblower complaints.
Opposition to SB 1193
The Alameda County Board of Supervisors opposed the legislation, along with organizations representing county governments across California.
Speaking for the county during the Senate Local Government Committee’s April 29 hearing, Amy Costa said Alameda County shared Wahab’s goals of transparency and responsible use of taxpayer money but considered the bill’s definition of discretionary funding “overly broad and unduly restrictive.”
Costa said contracts exceeding $25,000 already go before the full board during regularly scheduled public meetings. She also said requests by supervisors to distribute savings from their office budgets are considered as non-consent items and require approval from four of the five supervisors. She said this threshold is higher than the majority vote required under SB 1193.
“The form has recently been amended to include additional measures to ensure no conflict of interest exists in the awarding of those funds,” Costa said.
Limits on discretionary spending
SB 1193 also limits the promotion of discretionary awards during the 90 days before an election. Supervisors running for reelection cannot place district grants on a board agenda or participate in official press releases or ceremonial presentations announcing previously approved awards.
Wahab emphasized that the new requirements will not eliminate discretionary grants or prevent community organizations from receiving county support.
“It protects them by creating a fair, transparent process where funding decisions are based on public need,” she said.
Despite the county’s opposition, the legislation passed without a “no” vote. The Assembly approved it 71-0 on Aug. 17, with eight members not voting, including Oakland assemlymembers Buffy Wicks and Mia Bonta. The Senate approved the final version 40-0 the next day.
“Public money, public process, public trust,” Wahab said.
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