republic-os/legislation/us/states/ca/20092010/ab-1749.md

---
type: "Bill"
title: "California Whistleblower Protection Act: Administrative Office of the Courts."
description: "The California Whistleblower Protection Act prohibits a state employee from using his or her official authority or influence for the purpose of intimidating, threatening, coercing, or commanding any person for the purpose of interfering with his or her right to make a protected disclosure, defined to include the communication of information that may evidence an improper governmental activity. The act requires the State Auditor to investigate and report on improper governmental activities, as specified. The act authorizes an employee or applicant for state employment who files a written complaint alleging reprisal, retaliation, or similar prohibited acts to also file a copy of the written complaint with the State Personnel Board, together with a sworn statement that the complaint is true, under penalty of perjury. The act provides that any person who intentionally engages in acts of reprisal, retaliation, or similar prohibited acts against a state employee or applicant for state employment for having made a protected disclosure, is subject to punishment for a misdemeanor, and shall be liable in an action for civil damages brought by the injured party. The act defines \"employee\" as a person appointed by the Governor or employed or holding office in a state agency, as specified."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ca"
legislature: "California Legislature"
session: "20092010"
identifier: "AB 1749"
citation: "California AB 1749 (20092010)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["California Whistleblower Protection Act: Administrative Office of the Courts."]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Bonnie Lowenthal"]
version_count: 6
action_count: 23
vote_count: 5
first_action: "2010-02-08"
last_action: "2010-08-18"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/14e43f18-505d-4f95-bbee-f8698fc545c9"
source_url: "http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=200920100AB1749"
source_hash: "73283bef4d714793d550d5003453cf54242e4b3ed89c554b13d56cdacdab2175"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-ca"]
---

# California AB 1749 (20092010) — California Whistleblower Protection Act: Administrative Office of the Courts.

The California Whistleblower Protection Act prohibits a state employee from using his or her official authority or influence for the purpose of intimidating, threatening, coercing, or commanding any person for the purpose of interfering with his or her right to make a protected disclosure, defined to include the communication of information that may evidence an improper governmental activity. The act requires the State Auditor to investigate and report on improper governmental activities, as specified. The act authorizes an employee or applicant for state employment who files a written complaint alleging reprisal, retaliation, or similar prohibited acts to also file a copy of the written complaint with the State Personnel Board, together with a sworn statement that the complaint is true, under penalty of perjury. The act provides that any person who intentionally engages in acts of reprisal, retaliation, or similar prohibited acts against a state employee or applicant for state employment for having made a protected disclosure, is subject to punishment for a misdemeanor, and shall be liable in an action for civil damages brought by the injured party. The act defines "employee" as a person appointed by the Governor or employed or holding office in a state agency, as specified.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **02/08/10 - Introduced** (filed) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=200920100AB1749&version=20090AB174999INT)
2. **04/05/10 - Amended Assembly** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=200920100AB1749&version=20090AB174998AMD)
3. **04/27/10 - Amended Assembly** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=200920100AB1749&version=20090AB174997AMD)
4. **08/18/10 - Chaptered** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=200920100AB1749&version=20090AB174995CHP)
5. **AB1749** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=200920100AB1749)
6. **08/06/10 - Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=200920100AB1749&version=20090AB174996ENR)

## Votes

- Do pass, but re-refer to the Committee on Appropriations Recommend Consent. — **pass** (pass) · upper
- Do pass as amended and be re-referred to the Committee on Appropriations. — **pass** (pass) · lower
- Consent Calendar 2nd AB1749 Bonnie Lowenthal — **pass** (pass) · upper
- Do pass. — **pass** (pass) · lower
- AB 1749 LOWENTHAL Assembly Third Reading — **pass** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Bonnie Lowenthal — primary (person)
- Audra Strickland — author (person)
- Evans — coauthor (person)
- Jones — coauthor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2010-02-08** Read first time. To print. `reading-1`
- **2010-02-09** From printer. May be heard in committee March 11.
- **2010-02-18** Referred to Com. on JUD. `referral-committee`
- **2010-03-01** In committee: Hearing postponed by committee.
- **2010-03-11** In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.
- **2010-04-05** From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on JUD. Read second time and amended. `amendment-introduction, reading-2, amendment-passage, reading-1`
- **2010-04-05** Re-referred to Com. on JUD. `referral-committee`
- **2010-04-26** From committee: Amend, do pass as amended, and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 10. Noes 0.) (April 20). `amendment-introduction, amendment-passage, committee-passage`
- **2010-04-27** Read second time and amended. `amendment-passage, reading-2, reading-1`
- **2010-04-28** Re-referred to Com. on APPR. `referral-committee`
- **2010-05-13** From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 16. Noes 0.) (May 12). `committee-passage-favorable, committee-passage`
- **2010-05-17** Read second time. To third reading. `reading-2, reading-1`
- **2010-05-24** Read third time, passed, and to Senate. (Ayes 70. Noes 0. Page 5278.) `reading-3, passage, reading-1`
- **2010-05-24** In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. `reading-1`
- **2010-06-03** Referred to Com. on JUD. `referral-committee`
- **2010-06-30** From committee: Do pass, and re-refer to Com. on APPR with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. Re-referred. (Ayes 4. Noes 0.) (June 29). `committee-passage-favorable, committee-passage`
- **2010-08-02** From committee: Be placed on second reading file pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8 and to Consent Calendar. `committee-passage`
- **2010-08-03** Read second time. To Consent Calendar. `reading-2, reading-1`
- **2010-08-05** Read third time, passed, and to Assembly. (Ayes 33. Noes 0. Page 4374.) `reading-3, passage, reading-1`
- **2010-08-05** In Assembly. To enrollment.
- **2010-08-09** Enrolled and to the Governor at 4:50 p.m.
- **2010-08-18** Approved by the Governor. `executive-signature`
- **2010-08-18** Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 160, Statutes of 2010.

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/14e43f18-505d-4f95-bbee-f8698fc545c9`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official California legislature records).