Report 2017-126 Recommendations

When an audit is completed and a report is issued, auditees must provide the State Auditor with information regarding their progress in implementing recommendations from our reports at three intervals from the release of the report: 60 days, six months, and one year. Additionally, Senate Bill 1452 (Chapter 452, Statutes of 2006), requires auditees who have not implemented recommendations after one year, to report to us and to the Legislature why they have not implemented them or to state when they intend to implement them. Below, is a listing of each recommendation the State Auditor made in the report referenced and a link to the most recent response from the auditee addressing their progress in implementing the recommendation and the State Auditor's assessment of auditee's response based on our review of the supporting documentation.

Recommendations in Report 2017-126: Penalty Assessment Funds: California's Traffic Penalties and Fees Provide Inconsistent Funding for State and County Programs and Have a Significant Financial Impact on Drivers (Release Date: April 2018)

Recommendations to Legislature
Number	Recommendation	Status
1	To ensure consistent funding streams for state and county programs, the Legislature should consider whether, and to what extent, to fund the programs that currently receive penalty and fee revenue from criminal and traffic violations. The Legislature could adjust or eliminate individual penalties and fees by considering the following factors identified in our report: -Revenue trends and the reliability of penalties and fees as funding sources -The significant financial impact of penalties and fees on low-income individuals -How well aligned the uses of the penalty and fee revenues are with the offenses that give rise to the penalty or fee -The seemingly arbitrary amount of the penalty or fee To accomplish this, over the next two-year period the Legislature should review the penalties and fees and the programs that receive the penalty and fee revenue to determine the programs' needs. If the Legislature determines that a particular penalty or fee is not appropriate for generating revenue for a particular program, it should consider requiring the affected department to identify other funding sources or reduce the program's scope of services.	No Action Taken
2	The Legislature should consider revising state law to direct all or part of the penalty revenue to the State Penalty Fund and using the budget process to allocate funds to align with legislative priorities.	No Action Taken

Print all recommendations and responses.