Report 2009-030 Recommendation 7 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 #7 To: Bar of California, State

To ensure that it maximizes the amounts that it may recover to defray the expense of disciplining attorneys, the State Bar should update annually its formula for billing discipline costs and include due dates on all bills.

1-Year Agency Response

The State Bar indicated that its consultant reviewed the State Bar's discipline cost formula and methodology for updating the cost formula. In subsequent documentation provided in December 2010, the State Bar provided a copy of its consultant's report recommending that the State Bar increase the discipline cost formula and adjust it annually based on the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Cost Index. The State Bar stated that these recommendations will be presented to the State Bar's Board of Governors for consideration in January 2011. Additionally, the State Bar adjusted its billing system to include due dates on all notices to disciplined members and reported to us that it has adjusted its cost recovery database application to track how much it anticipates receiving against how much it actually receives in payments each year. (2011-406 p. 69)

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.