If you want to know about California’s explosive underground economy and the financial impact it has on our Golden State just ask any one of our California Statewide Law Enforcement Association (CSLEA) members who are investigators with the Employment Development Department, the Franchise Tax Board, or the Department of Consumer Affairs, just to name a few. They target the underground economy on a daily basis.
The underground economy in California is estimated to be between $60 billion and $140 billion each year. That means people, businesses or entities are operating and making money all the while they are concealing information that would cause them to pay various taxes and fees to the tune of $8 billion dollars a year. That is money that could be used for public safety, public schools, hospitals and other state services.
That is why CSLEA is supporting Assembly Bill 576, introduced by Assembly Member V. Manuel Perez (D-Coachella). AB 576 would establish the “Centralized Intelligence Partnership,” a pilot program that would bring together state agencies that investigate those operating in the underground economy into one central intake process. This would be a central hub for information for investigative and enforcement purposes.
“As an association that represents 7,000 public safety professionals who work for the state of California, including, investigators in nearly every department that investigates the underground economy, CSLEA strongly supports AB 576, ” said CSLEA President Alan Barcelona. “AB 576 creates a multi-agency partnership that would give our investigators more investigative muscle.”
This bill would establish the Centralized Intelligence Partnership until January 1, 2019.
