Press Releases

SACRAMENTO — California State Controller Betty T. Yee was sworn in today for her second term as the chief fiscal officer of the world’s fifth-largest economy. The oath was administered by California Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye at a ceremony in the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento.

After taking her oath of office, Yee gave brief remarks in which she highlighted key accomplishments of her first term including her team’s work to uncover over $4.2 billion in waste, abuse, and fiscal mismanagement; improve state and local government reporting as a critical tool for increasing civic engagement and participation; and boost efforts to reunite Californians with their unclaimed property.

Through her public policy work on 70 boards and commissions, Controller Yee underscored her efforts to safeguard retirement security for educators and public sector workers while protecting taxpayer dollars; insist that companies address climate change as a business risk and push for corporate board diversity; put money back in the pockets of hundreds of thousands of low-income working people through the CalEITC program; and decommission the last state oil platform and protect public access to state lands and beaches.

Yee spoke about her goals for California’s future governance and valuable human capital. “It is about governance that delivers results and stays accountable while upholding the underlying value of dignity for all. This is the universal value that can be foundational to the policies we adopt to address the economic distribution caused by climate change and the changing nature of work due to technological innovations, artificial intelligence, and robotics increasingly driving productivity. We are living in an era of finite fiscal and financial resources but our diverse human capital continues to be worthy of our focus, attention, and investment.”

As the chief fiscal officer of California, Controller Yee is responsible for accountability and disbursement of the state’s financial resources. The Controller has independent auditing authority over government agencies that spend state funds. She is a member of numerous financing authorities, and fiscal and financial oversight entities including the Franchise Tax Board. She also serves on the boards for the nation’s two largest public pension funds. Elected in 2014 and reelected in 2018, Controller Yee is the tenth woman elected to a statewide office in California’s history. Follow the Controller on Twitter at @CAController and on Facebook at California State Controller’s Office.

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