Waste, Fraud, and Abuse

Southern California school district paid absentee trustees against state, district policy through loophole

Trustees of the El Monte Union High School District have been drawing monthly stipends even when they haven’t attended board meetings, possibly violating state and internal policies. CalWatchdog found at least nine instances since 2015 where stipends were paid despite absences, although a loose interpretation

CA Senate panel kills whistleblower protection bill for the third time

Matt Fleming August 12, 2016

For the third straight year, the Senate Appropriations Committee killed a bill on Thursday that would have extended whistleblower protections to legislative staff — a response to the unrelated legal troubles of three senators in 2014. There are already whistleblower

Speaker, initiative committee spar over transparency measure

Matt Fleming June 28, 2016

A war of words erupted in recent days between the proponents of a transparency ballot measure and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, after members of the Legislature and legislative counsel dismissed the measure as full of “ambiguities” and introduced their own

Legislator wants domestic violence, political intimidation denounced equally

Matt Fleming June 3, 2016

Following renewed calls from members of the legislature’s women’s caucus for Assemblyman Roger Hernández to step down amid domestic violence allegations, one legislator is criticizing what she claims is the group’s uneven response on issues, after the group failed to denounce her political

Caltrans accused of improperly dumping dead animals again

Matt Fleming May 14, 2016

After discovering work crews had dumped a bunch of dead animals in a state waterway, a state Water Code enforcer is investigating if Caltrans ever created and implemented roadkill disposal policies, which was a requirement from the last time Caltrans got in

Controller expands eClaim feature for unclaimed property

John November 21, 2015

California’s chief fiscal officer is making it easier to reclaim private property held by the state. State Controller Betty T. Yee announced earlier this month an expansion of the eClaim feature for the state’s unclaimed property program. Property owners will now

Judiciary establishment shuns cost-cutting as alleged overspending continues

Steve Miller November 17, 2015

The state’s Judicial Council plans to shutter one of its satellite offices in 2017 but refuses to heed other cost-cutting measures urged by an audit released earlier this year that found the agency’s “questionable” spending has cut court funds. The

CA auditor: Six harsh reports in three months

Chris Reed September 25, 2015

A new report by the office of State Auditor Elaine Howle knocks the state’s handling of Medi-Cal reimbursements to schools which facilitate some federally funded health care services. It notes little progress made in fixing the Department of Health Care

Yet another in wave of CA DMV bribery scandals

Chris Reed August 16, 2015

The state Department of Motor Vehicles used to be a symbol of bureaucratic inefficiency, the subject of decades of jokes by Jay Leno and other California-based comedians. But then something unexpected happened: The DMV adopted to the computer era better

State-funded disabled care center settles assault case with paltry $400,000

Steve Miller July 19, 2015

A care-giving facility for disabled adults and the taxpayer-funded groups that oversee it have settled a 2011 lawsuit that accused the center of numerous instances of abuse and violent attacks on patients. The incidents include the sexual assault of several