Report 2014-131 Recommendation 9 Responses

Report 2014-131: California State Government Websites: Departments Must Improve Website Accessibility So That Persons With Disabilities Have Comparable Access to State Services Online (Release Date: June 2015)

Recommendation #9 To: Franchise Tax Board

No later than December 1, 2015, Franchise Tax Board should develop a plan to determine whether the accessibility violations we identified exist on other portions of its online presence that we did not include in the scope of our review. Once this plan is executed, it should correct violations wherever it finds them and do so no later than June 1, 2016.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From April 2017

The remaining two applications and three style sheet changes noted in the June 2, 2016 follow up have been completed. FTB used criteria from the audit to review our online presence. Issues were identified and corrected. Additionally, because of the heightened awareness around accessibility the department has implemented a structured process to identify future accessible technology needs. It is FTB's goal to address corrective action quickly as noncompliance issues are noted. In addition, as of January 31, 2017, testing has been completed for the applications implemented.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Fully Implemented

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From October 2016

Develop a plan to determine whether the accessibility issues identified in the audit exist on other portions of FTB's online presence that were not included in the scope of the review. The remaining two applications and three style sheet changes noted in the 06/02/2016 follow up have been completed. FTB used criteria from the audit to review our online presence. Issues were identified and corrected. Additionally, because of the heightened awareness around accessibility the department has implemented a structured process to identify future accessible technology needs. It is FTB's goal to address corrective action quickly as noncompliance issues are noted. The recommendation was fully implemented on 09/30/2016.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Partially Implemented

Contrary to Franchise Tax Board's assertion, the supporting documentation it provided to our office shows that accessibility testing has not been fully completed for elements of the department's website that Franchise Tax Board has identified as being related to this recommendation. Accordingly, until that accessibility testing is completed and any issues it discovers are fixed, we assess this recommendation as partially implemented.

1-Year Agency Response

Develop a plan to determine whether the accessibility issues identified in the audit exist on other portions of FTB's online presence that were not included in the scope of the review. We have analyzed the web applications and have identified the gaps. We have addressed most of the applications; however, we have a plan to complete the remaining 2 applications by June 30, 2016. Additionally, we've assessed the static content on the site and have 3 style sheet related changes to implement that will be completed by June 30, 2016.

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

6-Month Agency Response

We have analyzed the web applications and have identified the gaps and will prioritize these gaps with the goal to address them by 06/01/2016. We continue to identify the gaps in the static pages and with the goal to address them by 06/01/2016.

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

60-Day Agency Response

We are in the process of analyzing the web applications and static pages to identify the presence of accessibility gaps by 12/01/2015. We will prioritize these gaps with the goal to address them by 06/01/2016.

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

All Recommendations in 2014-131

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.