Report 2018-132 Recommendation Responses
Report 2018-132: Bureau of Gambling Control and California Gambling Control Commission: Their Licensing Processes Are Inefficient and Foster Unequal Treatment of Applicants (Release Date: May 2019)
Recommendation for Legislative Action
Given that the bureau has not achieved the expected benefits from adding 32 additional positions, the Legislature should not approve any requests to make funding for these positions permanent. Instead, the Legislature should extend funding for an additional two years, during which time the bureau should be able to clear its existing number of pending applications. At that point, the Legislature should reevaluate the bureau's long-term staffing needs, taking into consideration the extent to which it has implemented the recommendations in this report.
Description of Legislative Action
The Budget Act of 2019 includes $4.4 million from the Gambling Control Fund in 2019-20 and 2020-21 to continue funding 32 positions that process license applications, renewals, and background investigations for cardrooms and third-party providers to reduce the current backlog of license applications. Further, the Supplemental Report of the 2019-20 Budget Act requires Justice to submit separate reports to the budget committees of the Legislature and the Legislative Analyst's Office on how it has addressed specific recommendations identified by the California State Auditor in a May 2019 report evaluating the revenues and expenditures from the Gambling Control Fund. No later than January 10, 2020, Justice must submit a report providing its formal plan for completing its review of its remaining backlogged applications, as well as an update on its progress on executing the plan. No later than August 2019, Justice must submit a report on its new policies to ensure that it fairly charges applicants for the cost of licensing activities.
- Legislative Action Current As-of: November 2019
California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Legislation Enacted
Description of Legislative Action
The Budget Act of 2020 includes $4.4 million from the Gambling Control Fund in 2019-20 and 2020-21 to continue funding 32 positions that process license applications, renewals, and background investigations for cardrooms and third-party providers to reduce the current backlog of license applications. Further, the Supplemental Report of the 2019-20 Budget Act requires Justice to submit separate reports to the budget committees of the Legislature and the Legislative Analyst's Office on how it has addressed specific recommendations identified by the California State Auditor in a May 2019 report evaluating the revenues and expenditures from the Gambling Control Fund. No later than January 10, 2020, Justice must submit a report providing its formal plan for completing its review of its remaining backlogged applications, as well as an update on its progress on executing the plan. No later than August 2019 Justice must submit a report on its new policies to ensure that it fairly charges applicants for the cost of licensing activities.
- Legislative Action Current As-of: July 2019