Senate Passes Bill Allowing It to Oust Dishonest Appointees

The Senate voted 33 to 1 Thursday to approve a bill that would give it power to remove any public appointee who falsifies qualifications during confirmation hearings.

The bill was introduced by Sen. Gary K. Hart (D-Santa Barbara) after The Times revealed in December that California State University Chairwoman Marianthi Lansdale of Huntington Beach falsely claimed during her nomination process to have earned an associate of arts degree in 1959 from Long Beach City College.

Hart said Thursday that the Lansdale case highlighted a weakness in the political appointments process because there is no provision for removing an appointee should it be learned that he or she supplied phony credentials.

The bill would allow the Senate, which must approve gubernatorial appointments, to reconvene confirmation hearings and to remove an errant official on a two-thirds vote. Hart’s bill originally included a provision for criminal sanctions for perjury, but a committee dropped it.

“I think it’s important that the Senate have a process in place where we can bring an already confirmed appointee back for questioning if that appointee misrepresents his or her background,” Hart said. “Otherwise, the integrity of the appointments process comes into question.”

Lansdale publicly apologized for making the false claim, but she has repeatedly refused to comply with requests from Senate President Pro Tempore David A. Roberti (D-Los Angeles) to step down.

Gov. George Deukmejian, who appointed Lansdale, said earlier this year that she made a mistake in claiming the degree but that he would not ask her to give up the position. She heads a 24-member board that makes policy decisions for one of the largest public university systems in the world. The position is unpaid.

Lansdale and her husband, developer William M. (Bit) Lansdale, donated more than $100,000 to Deukmejian and gave him the use of a corporate plane during the 1982 race, campaign records show.