Report 2013-130 Recommendation 11 Responses
Report 2013-130: California Public Utilities Commission: It Fails to Adequately Ensure Consumers' Transportation Safety and Does Not Appropriately Collect and Spend Fees From Passenger Carriers (Release Date: June 2014)
Recommendation #11 To: Public Utilities Commission
To ensure that it does not further overcharge the transportation account, the commission should require the branch to review annually all branch staff funding distributions and align them with recent time charges.
Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From September 2015
We have a policy in place requiring BCOs to do an annual review of home based codes against their timesheets. The review is performed under the guidance of a new SSM I in the Budget Office who works exclusively on position and budget control for all CPUC positions.
- Completion Date: July 2015
California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Fully Implemented
In July 2015, the California Public Utilities Commission implemented a budget control officer (BCO) manual, which includes a policy that requires BCOs to annually review branch staff funding distributions and align them with recent time charges.
6-Month Agency Response
CPUC now requires all Division BCOs to annually review salary allocations for Division staff compared to actual timesheet submissions, current responsibilities, and job functions and make adjustments as necessary. This will be implemented as a phased process, which began with the Transportation Enforcement Branch which includes staff that are funded by multiple special funds associated to the work they do. The Branch is realigning funding codes and/or adjusted employee duties and responsibilities to more accurately reflect the effort that should be spent in each work area. As noted by the audit, as of April 1, 2014, CPUC implemented a new policy that requires Divisions to submit justification and documentation to set the funding distribution for a new employee or an employee that is changing positions with the CPUC. This is reviewed and approved by the CPUC Budget Office for completeness and potential impacts on fund appropriations before being processed.
Status: The salary allocation review policy has been completed. Updates to transportation salary allocations and/or updated duty statements will be finalized in February 2015. The Budget Office has developed guidance for other Division BCOs for how to update staff salary allocations against timesheets, and will schedule the next round of updates for February 2015. This timeline aligns with updates to the agency's cost allocation plan.
- Estimated Completion Date: February 2015
- Response Date: December 2014
California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Pending
60-Day Agency Response
CPUC now requires all Division BCOs to annually review salary allocations for Division staff compared to actual timesheet submissions, current responsibilities, and job functions and make adjustments as necessary. This will be implemented as a phased process, which began with the Transportation Enforcement Branch which includes staff that are funded by multiple special funds associated to the work they do. The Branch is realigning funding codes and/or adjusted employee duties and responsibilities to more accurately reflect the effort that should be spent in each work area. As noted by the audit, as of April 1, 2014, CPUC implemented a new policy that requires Divisions to submit justification and documentation to set the funding distribution for a new employee or an employee that is changing positions with the CPUC. This is reviewed and approved by the CPUC Budget Office for completeness and potential impacts on fund appropriations before being processed.
- Estimated Completion Date: For transportation enforcement, expected completion will be December 2014, however this is an ongoing process for the rest of the agency.
- Response Date: August 2014
California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Partially Implemented
All Recommendations in 2013-130
Agency responses received are posted verbatim.