(a) In connection with duties authorized pursuant to this division, the Office of the Inspector General may do any of the following:

(1) Administer oaths.

(2) Certify to all official acts.

(3) Receive and investigate complaints or information from any person concerning the existence of an activity constituting a violation of laws, rules, or regulations, or mismanagement, gross waste of funds, abuse of authority, or a substantial and specific danger to the public health and safety. Once a complaint or information has been received from an employee of the High-Speed Rail Authority:

(A) The Inspector General shall not disclose the identity of the employee without the consent of the employee, unless the Inspector General determines that the disclosure is unavoidable during the course of the investigation or the disclosure is made to an official of the Department of Justice responsible for determining whether a prosecution should be undertaken.

(B) No action constituting a reprisal, or threat of reprisal, for making the complaint or providing the information may be taken by any employee of the High-Speed Rail Authority in a position to take those actions, unless the complaint was made or the information was disclosed with the knowledge that it was false or with willful disregard for its truth or falsity.

(4) Issue subpoenas for the attendance of witnesses and the production of papers, books, accounts, or documents in any medium, or for the making of oral or written sworn statements, in any interview conducted pursuant to duties authorized by this division.

(b) Any subpoena issued under this division extends as process to all parts of the state and may be served by any person authorized to serve process of courts of record or by any person designated for that purpose by the office. The person serving this process may receive compensation as is allowed by the office, not to exceed the fees prescribed by law for similar service.

(Added by Stats. 2022, Ch. 71, Sec. 10. (SB 198) Effective June 30, 2022.)