Report 2012-301 Recommendation 6 Responses

Report 2012-301: Judicial Branch Procurement: Six Superior Courts Generally Complied With the Judicial Branch Contracting Law, but They Could Improve Some Policies and Practices (Release Date: March 2013)

Recommendation #6 To: Superior Court of California, County of Sacramento

To ensure that transactions reflect the State's priorities regarding businesses owned by disabled veterans, and to comply with requirements in the judicial contracting manual, the courts we reviewed should develop formal policies to implement the DVBE program.

1-Year Agency Response

The court reviewed DVBE policy sections from the State of CA and other Calfornia Superior courts, along with recommendations from the Administrative Office of the Courts. A final draft document was developed and approved in-house. The policy section was added to the court's internal contracting manual effective January 1, 2014.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: Fully Implemented

6-Month Agency Response

The Court is in the final stages of addressing the DVBE issue,having compiled several examples of DVBE policies and information from several sources including the State Department of General Services, CalTrans, and the Administrative Office of the Courts, along with existing policies from several courts. Court staff reviewed the various documents and have settled on a variation expected to meet the needs of the Court and the spirit of the legislation. A preliminary draft of the proposal has been developed and will be presented to the Court Executive Office by mid-September. The Court anticipates having a finalized policy in place by the end of October 2013.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Pending

60-Day Agency Response

The court has taken steps toward addressing the DVBE issue. To date, the Court's Contract Manager has instructed Purchasing staff to include potential DVBE vendors using the State Department of General Services Listing. The court also will review the DVBE potential bidders list from the State Department of Transportation to further expand the number of firms noticed for procurements.

For the policy development part of this issue, the Court, during Fiscal Year 2013-14, will gather a number of different DVBE policy guidelines from various sources to provide for a merge of the best components that will be most beneficial to the Court's needs. The court plans to secure all necessary approvals for the new DVBE policy by December 31, 2013.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Pending

All Recommendations in 2012-301

Agency responses received after June 2013 are posted verbatim.