Report 2019-046 Recommendation 19 Responses

Report 2019-046: Proposition 56 Tobacco Tax: State Agencies' Weak Administration Reduced Revenue by Millions of Dollars and Led to the Improper Use and Inadequate Disclosure of Funds (Release Date: January 2021)

Recommendation #19 To: Tobacco Education and Research Oversight Committee

To ensure that the Legislature has the knowledge necessary to make informed decisions about tobacco tax-funded programs, TEROC should produce the annual report each year, as state law requires.

60-Day Agency Response

On December 31, 2020, TEROC Chair Dr. Michael Ong emailed TEROC's 2020 Annual Report to the Legislature to Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon and Senate President pro Tempore Toni Atkins. Two copies of the 2020 annual report, addressed to both Speaker Rendon and Senator Atkins, are submitted for supporting documentation. This report includes information on:

a) A description and assessment of programs funded by Propositions 99 and 56, specifically CDPH/CTCP, CDE/Tobacco-Use Prevention Education (TUPE), and UC/Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program (TRDRP);

b) The number and amount of programs funded by the Health Education Account created by Section 30122 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, specifically CDPH/CTCP and CDE/TUPE;

c) The amount of money in the account and any moneys previously appropriated by CDPH/CTCP, CDE/TUPE, and the UC/TRDRP but unspent by the departments;

d) Recommendations for necessary policy changes or improvements for tobacco education programs. The information in this report was taken from the 2019-2020 California Governor's Budget.

To comply with state law, TEROC will continue to submit its annual report to the legislature on or before December 31 of each year. The annual report for 2021 will be developed and submitted after the Governor's May Revise so as to report the most accurate numbers for CDPH/CTCP, CDE/TUPE and UC/TRDRP in 2021 and subsequent years.

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

TEROC's publication of the annual report on an annual basis addresses our recommendation. However, some of the information that it provided is of little value. Specifically, it did not publish in its annual report actual amounts received or spent for the two most recent fiscal years. Instead, it provided estimates from the State budget. Thus, the information TEROC published for the most recently concluded fiscal year is significantly out of date. Further, because TEROC is providing budgeted numbers rather than actuals, the information conflicts with the information that state agencies are publishing on their websites.

All Recommendations in 2019-046

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.