Report 2018-120 Recommendation 10 Responses
Report 2018-120: San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission: Its Failure to Perform Key Responsibilities Has Allowed Ongoing Harm to the San Francisco Bay (Release Date: May 2019)
Recommendation #10 To: San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission
To ensure that it maximizes the efficiency and effectiveness of its enforcement and permitting programs, the commission should by January 2020 develop guidance that enumerates the violation types that the commissioners deem worthy of swift enforcement action, those that staff can defer for a specified amount of time, and those that do not warrant enforcement action or that can be resolved through fines.
Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From November 2022
No updates, fully implemented in 2020.
- Completion Date: March 2020
California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Partially Implemented
The commission did not provide an update on the implementation of this recommendation, which we found to be only partially implemented in October 2021.
- Auditee did not substantiate its claim of full implementation
- Auditee did not address all aspects of the recommendation
Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From October 2021
Office of Administrative Law approval is pending. In consultation with the Commission, staff developed and implemented case review and management procedures and refined the case prioritization process. Commission regulation Chapter 13 Section 11386 lists the types of violations for swift resolution through standardized fines, revisions clarifying the regulation have been adopted by the Commission and in May 2021 were submitted to the Office of Administrative Law for approval. Staff determined that deferring cases for future resolution is not a viable approach as it previously resulted in case stagnation.
- Completion Date: March 2020
California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Partially Implemented
Commission staff have developed case review and management procedures. Regulatory changes are in process, but not yet finalized. However, the Commission has not voted to provide its staff with formal guidance necessary to address our recommendation.
- Auditee did not substantiate its claim of full implementation
- Auditee did not address all aspects of the recommendation
Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From October 2020
Staff have developed case review procedures to determine how to use the prioritization scoring and other metrics to determine the appropriate effort to devote on cases, and staff regularly update the Enforcement Committee on cases opened and cases closed to allow for Commission oversight of case progress. Staff are using the standardized fine regulations set forth in Section 11386 as guidance for actions that can potentially be corrected through the standardized fine process without action by the Commission, and have updated the Enforcement Committee on the use of standardized fines and numbers of cases resolved through this process. Staff have also refined a practice of referring cases to other governmental entities when they are better equipped to address the violations, and staff have initiated a process to quickly close cases where reports are received of activities outside of BCDC's jurisdiction and to update the Enforcement Committee on these closures.
- Completion Date: March 2020
California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Pending
The commission has not yet developed and approved guidance on the violation types that require swift action and those that can be deferred for a specific amount of time, therefore this recommendation is not fully implemented.
- Auditee did not address all aspects of the recommendation
1-Year Agency Response
Staff have developed case review procedures to determine the appropriate effort on cases. Staff are using standardized fines, as provided in section 11386 of the regulations, to resolve cases and have implemented procedural improvements to maximize the efficiency of this process. Staff have also refined a practice of referring cases to other agencies or local government where they are better equipped to address the violation and are seeking to immediately close cases involving reports of activities outside of BCDC's jurisdiction.
- Completion Date: February 2020
- Response Date: May 2020
California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: Partially Implemented
Commission staff have developed case review procedures and continue to utilize their existing standardized fine authority. However, the Commission has not voted to provide its staff with formal guidance necessary to address our recommendation.
6-Month Agency Response
Not Fully Implemented. On September 25, 2019, staff briefed the Enforcement Committee on the case prioritization system, and the Committee has determined that the prioritization system is adequate to identify violation types that require swift action. Staff also briefed the Enforcement Committee, on the standardized fine process and current case management system, and staff continues to examine and implement improvements to the process.
- Estimated Completion Date: March 2020
- Response Date: November 2019
California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Pending
60-Day Agency Response
Staff is reviewing the standardized fines regulations, prioritization system, and current case management system, with oversight from the Enforcement Committee, in order to further the resolution of cases.
- Estimated Completion Date: 01/01/2020
- Response Date: July 2019
California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Pending
All Recommendations in 2018-120
Agency responses received are posted verbatim.