HB 425: "An Act relating to misrepresentation and false claims made against the state or a municipality; and providing for an effective date."
00HOUSE BILL NO. 425 01 "An Act relating to misrepresentation and false claims made against the state or 02 a municipality; and providing for an effective date." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. AS 36.30.687(a) is amended to read: 05 (a) A person who makes or uses in support of a contract claim under this 06 chapter, a misrepresentation, or who practices or attempts to practice a fraud, at any 07 stage of proceedings relating to a procurement or contract controversy under this 08 chapter 09 (1) forfeits all claims relating to that procurement or contract; and 10 (2) is liable to the state for a false claim as provided in AS 37.10.090 11 [REIMBURSEMENT OF ALL SUMS PAID ON THE CLAIM, FOR ALL COSTS 12 ATTRIBUTABLE TO REVIEW OF THE CLAIM, AND FOR A CIVIL PENALTY 13 EQUAL TO THE AMOUNT BY WHICH THE CLAIM IS MISREPRESENTED]. 14 * Sec. 2. AS 37.10.090 is repealed and reenacted to read:
01 Sec. 37.10.090. False claims and misrepresentation against state or 02 municipality. (a) A person is civilly liable to the state or a municipality in 03 accordance with the provisions of this section if the person commits any of the 04 following acts: 05 (1) knowingly presents or causes to be presented to an officer or 06 employee of the state or of a municipality, a false claim for payment or approval by 07 the state or municipality; 08 (2) knowingly makes, uses, or causes to be made or used a false record 09 or statement to get a false claim paid or approved by the state or a municipality; 10 (3) conspires to defraud the state or a municipality by getting a false 11 claim allowed or paid by the state or municipality; 12 (4) has possession, custody, or control of public property or money 13 used or to be used by the state or a municipality and knowingly delivers or causes to 14 be delivered less money or property than the amount for which the person receives a 15 document certifying receipt; 16 (5) is authorized to make or deliver a document certifying receipt of 17 property used or to be used by the state or a municipality and knowingly makes or 18 delivers a receipt that falsely represents the property used or to be used; 19 (6) knowingly buys, or receives as a pledge of an obligation or a debt, 20 public property from a person who lawfully may not sell or pledge the property; 21 (7) knowingly makes, uses, or causes to be made or used a false record 22 or statement to conceal, avoid, or decrease an obligation to pay or transmit money or 23 property to the state or a municipality; or 24 (8) is a beneficiary of an inadvertent submission of a false claim to the 25 state or a municipality, subsequently discovers the falsity of the claim, and fails to 26 disclose the false claim to the state or the municipality within a reasonable time after 27 discovery of the false claim. 28 (b) If civil liability is found under (a) of this section, the person is liable to the 29 state or municipality for the following: 30 (1) except as provided in (c) of this section, three times the amount of 31 the damages that the state or municipality sustains because of the act of that person;
01 (2) a civil penalty of up to $10,000 for each act for which liability is 02 found under (a) of this section; 03 (3) attorney fees and costs awarded in accordance with Alaska Rules 04 of Civil Procedure to recover amounts under (1) or (2) of this subsection. 05 (c) The court may reduce the amount of damages under (b)(1) of this section 06 to an amount not less than two times the amount of the damages sustained and may 07 waive entirely the civil penalties under (b)(2) of this section if the standards set out 08 in this subsection are met. To be eligible for reduction or waiver, the person must 09 prove, and the court must find, all of the following: 10 (1) the person committing the violation furnished officials of the state 11 or of the municipality responsible for investigating violations of this section with all 12 information known to that person about the violation within 30 days after the date on 13 which the person first obtained the information; 14 (2) the person fully cooperated with any investigation of the violation 15 by the state or a municipality; and 16 (3) at the time the person furnished the state or the municipality with 17 information about the violation, no criminal prosecution, civil action, or administrative 18 action had started with respect to the violation, and the person did not have actual 19 knowledge of the existence of an investigation into the violation. 20 (d) Liability under this section is joint and several for any act committed by 21 two or more persons. 22 (e) Except as provided in (g) of this section, the remedies provided under this 23 section are in addition to any other remedies provided by law. 24 (f) This section does not apply to any controversy involving an amount or 25 value of less than $500. 26 (g) This section does not apply to claims, records, or statements made to 27 present or support a claim under 28 (1) AS 23.20 (Alaska Employment Security Act); 29 (2) AS 23.30 (Alaska Workers' Compensation Act); 30 (3) AS 43 (Revenue and Taxation); 31 (4) AS 47.25 (Public Assistance); or
01 (5) AS 47.27 (Alaska Temporary Assistance Program). 02 (h) In this section, "controversy" means any one or more acts committed by 03 the same person in violation of this section. 04 * Sec. 3. AS 37.10 is amended by adding new sections to read: 05 Sec. 37.10.092. Limitation of actions; standard of proof. (a) A civil action 06 under AS 37.10.090 may not be filed more than six years after the date of discovery 07 by the official of the state or municipality charged with responsibility to act in the 08 circumstances or, in any event, no more than 10 years after the date on which the 09 violation under AS 37.10.090 was committed. 10 (b) In an action brought under AS 37.10.090, the state or a municipality is 11 required to prove all essential elements of the cause of action, including damages, by 12 a preponderance of the evidence. 13 (c) A guilty verdict rendered in a criminal proceeding charging false statements 14 or fraud, whether upon a verdict after trial or upon a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, 15 estops the defendant from denying the essential elements of the offense in a civil 16 action brought under AS 37.10.090 that involves the same activity as in the criminal 17 proceeding. This subsection does not apply to a guilty verdict upon a plea of nolo 18 contendere made before January 1, 2001. 19 Sec. 37.10.094. Action by attorney general or municipal attorney. (a) The 20 attorney general shall investigate violations under AS 37.10.090 involving state money 21 or property. If the attorney general finds that a person has violated or is violating 22 AS 37.10.090, the attorney general may bring a civil action under AS 37.10.090 23 against that person. If the attorney general brings a civil action on a claim involving 24 municipal money or property as well as state money or property, the attorney general 25 shall, on the same date that the complaint is filed in this action, serve a copy of the 26 complaint on the appropriate prosecuting authority of the municipality. 27 (b) The prosecuting authority of a municipality shall investigate violations 28 under AS 37.10.090 involving municipal money or property. If the prosecuting 29 authority of the municipality finds that a person has violated or is violating 30 AS 37.10.090, the prosecuting authority may bring a civil action against that person. 31 If the prosecuting authority brings a civil action on a claim involving state money or
01 property as well as municipal money or property, the prosecuting authority shall, on 02 the same date that the complaint is filed in this action, serve a copy of the complaint 03 on the attorney general. Within 60 days after receiving the complaint, the attorney 04 general shall do one of the following: 05 (1) notify the court that the attorney general intends to proceed with the 06 action, in which case the attorney general shall assume primary responsibility for 07 conducting the action and the prosecuting authority of the municipality may continue 08 as a party; or 09 (2) notify the court that the attorney general declines to proceed with 10 the action, in which case the prosecuting authority of the municipality may conduct the 11 action; notwithstanding AS 37.10.090, if the attorney general declines to proceed with 12 the action, the attorney general may authorize the prosecuting authority of the 13 municipality to assume lead responsibility for conducting the action for any state 14 money or property remaining in the action. 15 * Sec. 4. AS 36.30.687(c) and AS 37.10.100 are repealed. 16 * Sec. 5. This Act takes effect January 1, 2001.