Report 2009-030 Recommendation 1 Responses

Report 2009-030: State Bar of California: It Can Do More to Manage Its Disciplinary System and Probation Processes Effectively and to Control Costs (Release Date: July 2009)

Recommendation #1 To: Bar of California, State

To explain and justify cost increases, and to measure the efficiency of its disciplinary system as well as the impact of policy changes, the State Bar should account separately for the expenses associated with the various functions of the disciplinary system, including its personnel costs. This can be accomplished through a study of staff time and resources devoted to a specific function.

1-Year Agency Response

In its 60-day response, the State Bar stated that beginning with its 2010 budget it will adjust its methodology to track the component costs of its disciplinary system separately and consistently. In its one-year response, the State Bar indicated that it retained a consulting firm to assist in the study of staff time and resources. Based on subsequent inquiry, the State Bar provided us with documentation summarizing the results of its efforts to track staff time for a five-week period in March 2010. The State Bar gathered data across the budgeted component functions of the discipline systems, i.e., Intake, Investigation, Trials, Audit and Review, and Management. According to the State Bar, the data gathered supports the budget allocation methodology the Office of Finance adopted in response to our recommendation to track and report costs, particularly including personnel costs, by discipline system function. The hours allocated to each function by the time study correlates closely to the budget dollars allocated to the same functions. (See 2011-406 p. 66)

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

All Recommendations in 2009-030

Agency responses received after June 2013 are posted verbatim.