Report 2012-117 Recommendations and Responses in 2014-041

Report 2012-117: State Athletic Commission: Its Ongoing Administrative Struggles Call Its Future Into Question

Department Number of Years Reported As Not Fully Implemented Total Recommendations to Department Not Implemented After One Year Not Implemented as of 2013-041 Response Not Implemented as of Most Recent Response
Department of Consumer Affairs 1 1 1 n/a 1
State Athletic Commission 1 28 8 n/a 7

Recommendation To: Consumer Affairs, Department of

To ensure that all designated parties complete statements of economic interests as the law requires, Consumer Affairs should improve its policies and procedures to ensure that it identifies any incomplete statements and promptly notifies the Fair Political Practices Commission when necessary.

Response

In April 2014, the Department re-assigned the Filing Officer responsibility, obtained additional training from the Fair Political Practices Commission and established an internal automated Board Member database that records and tracks the trainings and forms Board Members are required to complete by law, including the Form 700 Statement of Economic Interests. The Board Member database is now the single repository to track Form 700 Statements, allowing the Department to proactively follow up with Board Members and ensure filing deadlines are met.

Additionally, the OHR is thoroughly reviewing departmental procedures to ensure the roles and responsibilities for all parties in the process are clearly defined. A revised procedure memorandum is in development and the Filing Officer will increase communication with the program liaisons, to ensure more timely information on new and departing staff is provided to the Filing Officer.

The Department intends to procure an electronic conflict-of-interest filing system which will have the capability to provide custom notification to filers, ensure minor errors are corrected before filing, monitor the status of each filer's forms (not started, started but not completed, completed and submitted) and provide timely management reports. The Department expects the e-filing system to be operational for the annual Form 700 filing period in April 2015.

Policies and procedures regarding the Form 700 Statement of Economic Interests are outlined in the Department's Board Member Orientation Training, which Board Members are required to complete within one year of assuming office. Additionally, the Deputy Director for Board and Bureau Relations regularly communicates with Bureau Chiefs, Executive Officers and Board Members about the mandatory training requirements and when the trainings/webcasts are available. The Department also has an attorney designated as the Ethics Officer.

Recommendation To: Athletic Commission, State

To ensure its future financial stability, the commission should work with Consumer Affairs to establish a long-term financial plan that contains the following:
• A reasonable annual budget with an accurate forecast of planned expenditures. The commission should determine this budget based in part on its ability or inability to meet the expenditure limitations stipulated in the solvency plan.
• The number of inspectors necessary to regulate each type of event. In establishing this number, the commission should take into account the varying size and complexity of the events. It should also determine the cost for each inspector to regulate an event.
• An estimate of its costs to regulate different types of events. To arrive at a reasonable estimate, the commission will need to track at least six months of actual expenditures.
• The number of staff necessary to perform all of the commission's necessary functions. The commission will need to conduct a workload analysis as soon as possible to determine how many staff it requires and adjust its planned expenditures accordingly.
• Funds for athletic inspectors' training that are sufficient to meet the requirement that inspectors receive training within six months of an event that they are scheduled to work.
• Strategies to increase revenue. The commission may need to conduct analyses to determine whether the opportunities it is currently considering are legally permissible and fiscally prudent. If so, the commission should take steps to implement those strategies, including seeking any necessary legislative changes.

Response

This recommendation is almost fully implemented. The only item we are lacking is the workload analysis. We plan to complete a workload analysis in approximately 6 months.

We currently have 7 staff members, one of which is out on maternity leave and one is about to take maternity leave. 6 months is a good projection of getting this recommendation fully implemented.

Recommendation To: Athletic Commission, State

To ensure that it adequately tracks critical information related to its basic functions and mission, the commission should ensure that its system for tracking the number of events, the inspectors it assigns to events, and its revenues and expenditures is compatible with the online program Consumer Affairs is developing so that it may easily import this information into the new program when it is complete.

Response

Consumer Affairs has assured the Commission that the licensing database we are using is Breeze compliant. The inspector tracking spreadsheet is similar, and we plan to work with Consumer Affairs once the Athletic Commission begins transitioning to the new online database system and ensure that the information migrates without problems.

I am aware this is the same response as in April, however, I have no new information to provide. The Commission is in phase 3 of the Breeze rollout and the implementation of Breeze has been delayed. The Commission still is using the spreadsheet that is Breeze compliant.

Recommendation To: Athletic Commission, State

To ensure that it adequately tracks critical information related to its basic functions and mission, the commission should work with Consumer Affairs to ensure that the new online program will meet its needs and requirements. Once the program is in place, the commission should use it as its central means for tracking its operations.

Response

The commission will work with Consumer Affairs to ensure that the new online program meets our needs and requirements. Consumer Affairs has scheduled the commission to begin implementation of the new online program with phase three boards and bureaus. Consumer Affairs is working with phase one boards and bureaus now. The commission plans to use the new online program as our central means for tracking operations once it is fully implemented.

I am aware this is the same response. I have no new information to provide. We are in the third phase of the Breeze rollout and Phase 2 is not expected to rollout for another year.

Recommendation To: Athletic Commission, State

To ensure that it accurately collects revenue, the commission should formalize policies and procedures directing inspectors to take the necessary steps to make sure they correctly and consistently calculate taxes, assessments, and fees in accordance with state law and regulations.

Response

As we said in April, we expect this to be completed by January of 2015.

We may need a little more time due to unexpected leave of absences.

Please see our response from April 2014

Recommendation To: Athletic Commission, State

To ensure that it accurately collects revenue, the commission should calculate the pension assessment by counting all the complimentary tickets issued, except for working complimentary tickets, not merely the complimentary tickets that are redeemed. If the commission does not agree that it should calculate the pension assessment by counting all the complimentary tickets issued, it should seek a change in its regulations to calculate the fee based only on the number of complimentary tickets redeemed.

Response

Upon further review, the Commission does not agree with this interpretation of it's rules. The Commission is the interpreter of its rules and it believes that this is not correct.

This interpretation would devastate the industry, as comp tickets are used to market events. Counting every comp ticket issued, rather than comp tickets actually redeemed is not the intention of the regulation.

Recommendation To: Athletic Commission, State

The commission needs to establish regulations that describe its process for determining its ticket assessment for the neurological account so that it avoids the use of underground regulations.

Response

The Commission has proposed amendments to it's regulations regarding the neurological assessment. This regulatory proposal addresses this BSA recommendation. The estimated implementation date if approved by the Office of Administrative Law is April 1, 2015.

Please see supporting documentation emailed to Kathleen.

Recommendation To: Athletic Commission, State

To operate the pension plan effectively and maximize boxers' benefits, the commission should create policies and procedures for its administration to ensure that it transfers funds on a regular basis from the pension fund's state account into its investment account.

Response

This recommendation is being performed by not moving more money than is being distributed from the investment account to the SMIF account.

Recommendation To: Athletic Commission, State

To comply with state law governing the pension plan, the commission needs to, after it has an accurate and complete listing of all licensed athletes and box office information by event type, conduct the analysis to determine the feasibility of expanding the pension plan to cover all athletes and report the results to the Legislature.

Response

This analysis has not been conducted. We plan to do it to satisfy the audit and legal requirements, but require additional time.

Current Status of Recommendations

All Recommendations in 2014-041