Report 2016-121 Recommendation 9 Responses

Report 2016-121: Department of Motor Vehicles: Administrative and Statutory Changes Will Improve Its Ability to Detect and Deter Misuse of Disabled Person Parking Placards (Release Date: April 2017)

Recommendation #9 To: Motor Vehicles, Department of

To reduce the risk of fraudulent applications, by September 2017 DMV should seek interagency agreements with the health boards responsible for licensing providers authorized to certify disabilities on placard applications. The agreements should include, but not be limited to, a process for obtaining copies of provider signatures and routinely comparing the signatures with those on a sample of placard applications. Investigations should confirm questionable signatures with providers.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From November 2018

Interagency agreements have been established with each health board to provide DMV with copies of medical provider signatures. DMV compares signatures received from the health boards to the DMV signatures on file. Pursuant to the interagency agreement, the DMV provides to the health board reports on applications that are suspected to be falsely or fraudulently certified. The health boards agree to receive reports from the DMV and may take any action the health boards deem appropriate.

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

1-Year Agency Response

In November 2017, Legal Counsel at DCA requested changes to the interagency agreement language. In December 2017, changes were incorporated into a new version and routed back to DCA for final approval. After multiple discussions between DMV and DCA, the agreements are in the final stages of execution.

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

6-Month Agency Response

DMV met with the executive officers of the various health boards responsible for licensing medical providers authorized to certify the disability of an applicant for a disabled person placard. The Director of the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) is facilitating efforts to establish an Interagency Agreement with each of the boards that will govern execution of the activities recommended by the auditor.

A draft interagency agreement was completed and sent to the licensing boards on September 13, 2017, for concurrence. The Statement of Work for the various medical boards is complete, but the official completion date is being moved to December 31, 2017 to allow all of the affected boards under DCA time to officially adopt the agreements.

Governor Brown signed Senate Bill 611 on October 4, 2017. SB 611 incorporates many of the recommendations made to the Legislature in the California State Auditor audit report "Department of Motor Vehicles: Administrative and Statutory Changes Will Improve Its Ability to Detect and Deter Misuse of Disabled Person Parking Placards." DMV is currently working to implement the provisions of SB 611.

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

60-Day Agency Response

DMV has identified the executive officers of the various health boards responsible for licensing medical providers authorized to certify the disability of an applicant for a disabled person placard, and sent a letter to the Director of the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) to seek DCA's cooperation in establishing an Interagency Agreement. The agreement will facilitate communications and the exchange of services between DMV, DCA, and the health boards responsible for licensing medical providers authorized to certify the disability of an applicant for a disabled person parking placard.

The health boards will provide DMV copies of medical providers' signatures from official documents maintained by the boards. DMV investigators will compare the signatures with signatures on applications and confirm questionable signatures with medical providers.

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

All Recommendations in 2016-121

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.