Report 2019-127 Recommendation 7 Responses

Report 2019-127: San Diego County Air Pollution Control District: It Has Used Vehicle Registration Fees to Subsidize Its Permitting Process, Reducing the Amount of Funds Available to Address Air Pollution (Release Date: July 2020)

Recommendation #7 To: San Diego County Air Pollution Control District

To ensure that its decisions are transparent and that it encourages opportunities for public involvement, the district board should publicly deliberate on key issues related to air quality during its regular meetings.

1-Year Agency Response

The new APCD Governing Board held its first meeting as a full board on April 2, 2021. Since then, the Governing Board has met twice per month, and will switch to monthly meetings effective September 2021. To date, no items before the Board have been adopted on consent; the Board has fully deliberated on the agenda items. . Further, the Interim Air Pollution Control Officer provided a briefing regarding the audit findings and recommendations at the May 7, 2021, Governing Board meeting.

The new Governing Board has not yet considered whether the advisory committee is still necessary. However, at its May 21, 2021 meeting, the Governing Board created an ad hoc Governance Subcommittee, which was tasked with identifying the APCD's policy priorities and addressing other governance matters,. District staff plan to engage the Board's Governance Committee on the question of whether an advisory committee is still needed. The advisory committee currently has two members and its meetings are on hold pending the new Governing Board's determination regarding whether an advisory committee is necessary.

Completion Date: April 2021
Response Date: July 2021

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

6-Month Agency Response

The Interim Air Pollution Control Officer, Rob Reider, and Senior Deputy County Counsel Paula Forbis provided a briefing to the APCD Board members' aides on June 30, 2020, to make them aware of the audit report's recommendations. This specific recommendation was raised in the briefing. The District will also make the new APCD Governing Board aware of this recommendation soon after its formation.

Estimated Completion Date: Ongoing
Response Date: January 2021

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

Although the San Diego Air District indicated that it raised our concerns with the District Board, it did not provide any additional information regarding how the District Board plans to address this recommendation. We look forward to reviewing the District Board's progress in implementing this recommendation in its 1-year response due July 2021.