(a)This article shall be known and may be cited as the False Claims Act.
(b)For purposes of this article:
(1)"Claim" includes any request or demand for money, property, or services made to any employee, officer, or agent of the state or of any political subdivision, or to any contractor, grantee, or other recipient, whether under contract or not, if any portion of the money, property, or services requested or demanded issued from, or was provided by, the state (hereinafter "state funds") or by any political subdivision thereof (hereinafter "political subdivision funds").
(2)"Knowing" and "knowingly" mean that a person, with respect to information, does any of the following:
(A)Has actual knowledge of the information.
(B)Acts in deliberate ignorance of the truth or falsity of the information.
(C)Acts in reckless disregard of the truth or falsity of the information.
Proof of specific intent to defraud is not required.
(3)"Political subdivision" includes any city, city and county, county, tax or assessment district, or other legally authorized local governmental entity with jurisdictional boundaries.
(4)"Prosecuting authority" refers to the county counsel, city attorney, or other local government official charged with investigating, filing, and conducting civil legal proceedings on behalf of, or in the name of, a particular political subdivision.
(5)"Person" includes any natural person, corporation, firm, association, organization, partnership, limited liability company, business, or trust.