Report 2010-125 Recommendation 4 Responses

Report 2010-125: State Lands Commission: Because It Has Not Managed Public Lands Effectively, the State Has Lost Millions in Revenue for the General Fund (Release Date: August 2011)

Recommendation #4 To: Lands Commission, State

To ensure that it does not undervalue certain types of leases, the commission should implement and follow its plan to regularly update its benchmarks for determining rental amounts.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From October 2013

This recommendation is fully implemented. As reported in the October 2012 annual follow up, all recreational benchmarks are up-to-date and will continue to be updated on a 5-year cycle. Commission staff has evaluated the need for residential benchmarks at Lake Tahoe, Black Point and the Colorado River and concluded they are not necessary because there are not enough leases to justify a residential benchmark in these areas. All existing benchmarks are up-to-date.

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

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From October 2012

The Lake Tahoe recreational benchmark was finalized in July 2012. All recreational benchmarks are now up-to-date and will be updated on 5-year cycles. Commission staff is currently evaluating the need for certain residential benchmarks, including the existing Black Point benchmark and new residential benchmarks for Lake Tahoe and the Colorado River. The Black Point benchmark is on hold until Commission staff completes a re-evaluation of its jurisdiction in the area. This re-evaluation involves a survey and significant work by the Commission's Boundary Unit. Because the proposed Lake Tahoe residential benchmark will be a complicated and time consuming process, it is on hold until the Appraisal Unit is fully staffed with two positions (the Commission is currently without any appraisal staff; see the 8/23/12 update to the Audit). Commission staff may also be establishing a Colorado River residential benchmark if it is found that there are sufficient new leases in the area to warrant the current and potential future expenditure of staff time. Staff anticipates full implementation of this recommendation

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Not Fully Implemented

All Recommendations in 2010-125

Agency responses received after June 2013 are posted verbatim.