Report 2019-111 All Recommendation Responses

Report 2019-111: Mobile Home Park Inspections: The Department of Housing and Community Development Must Improve Its Inspection Processes to Better Protect Park Residents (Release Date: July 2020)

Recommendation #1 To: Housing and Community Development, Department of

To reduce the risk of unidentified health and safety violations, HCD should by January 2021 use its existing authority to develop written policies and procedures for selecting parks for its park inspections that consider for all parks the number and severity of recent complaints as well as the length of time since HCD conducted any type of park visit.

60-Day Agency Response

Selection criteria developed and published in 2019 Annual MPM Taskforce Document, and 2020 Jan-June Report. Criteria: 1. No MPM inspection in last 7 years; 2. Verified health and safety complaints; 3. no permits issued last 12 months. Staff Memo 2020-04 issued August 24, 2020 memorialize selection criteria.

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

Recommendation #2 To: Housing and Community Development, Department of

To reduce health and safety risks in parks, HCD should by September 2020 develop written guidance that specifies what constitutes a field monitoring visit, how inspectors should choose parks for field monitoring, and how inspectors will document these visits.

60-Day Agency Response

Staff Memo 2020-05 issued August 24, 2020 identifies field monitoring selection method and CASAS database reporting requirement.

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

Recommendation #3 To: Housing and Community Development, Department of

To reduce health and safety risks in parks, HCD should by September 2020 document facility IDs and dates for all inspections and field monitoring visits in CASAS so that staff can readily determine the length of time since each park's last inspection or field monitoring visit and the type of inspection or visit that HCD conducted.

6-Month Agency Response

The collection of Mobilehome Park IDs for inspection types is current practice. Sprint 63, deployed November 19, 2020 included CASAS enhancement to the DR workload report allowing for the reporting of Park IDs for multiple inspection types.

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

HCD modified CASAS so that inspectors can record field monitoring visits and provided a sample of a workload report that shows it is now documenting facility IDs and dates for all inspections and field monitoring visits.

60-Day Agency Response

Staff Memo 2020-05 issued August 24, 2020 identifies field monitoring selection method and CASAS database reporting requirement.

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

HCD's staff memo address recording field monitoring, but it does not address recording other inspections (non-MPA inspections). HCD has indicated that it is working on an enhancement to CASAS that will allow the currently-collected facility ID data for these other visits to be included in reported inspection data related to park visits.

Recommendation #4 To: Housing and Community Development, Department of

To improve consistency in inspections, HCD should by July 2021 develop and implement procedures to specify the factors that inspectors should consider when deciding whether to cite common types of violations.

1-Year Agency Response

Staff Memo 2021-04 issued April 30, 2021 provides direction to District Representatives on factors that should be considered when citing common types of violations discovered during Mobilehome Park Maintenance (MPM) inspections.

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

6-Month Agency Response

Draft staff memo in development to address common violations. HCD to use HUD guidelines as model for procedures.

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

60-Day Agency Response

Draft staff memo in development to address common violations. HCD to use HUD guidelines as model for procedures.

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

Recommendation #5 To: Housing and Community Development, Department of

To improve consistency in inspections, HCD should by July 2021 develop and implement procedures to implement and begin providing periodic refresher training to its inspectors to reinforce inspection policies.

1-Year Agency Response

Staff Memo 2021-05 issued April 30, 2021 provides direction to Field Operations Codes and Standards Administrators and District Representatives of the policies and procedures surrounding the implementation and tracking of initial and periodic refresher training for DRs.

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

6-Month Agency Response

HCD to develop DR training program and training refresh to reinforce inspection policies.

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

60-Day Agency Response

HCD to develop DR training program and training refresh to reinforce inspection policies.

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

Recommendation #6 To: Housing and Community Development, Department of

To improve consistency in inspections, HCD should by July 2021 develop and implement procedures to require a secondary review of a selection of inspection reports to ensure that staff members follow key legal and HCD policy requirements. These procedures should specify how often secondary reviewers will review reports, how many reports they will review, what to look for during these reviews, and how to document the secondary review.

1-Year Agency Response

Staff Memo 2021-06 provides direction to Field Operations Codes and Standards Administrators on the requirements for secondary review of activity reports (HCD Form 61/63), to ensure compliance with key legal and HCD policy requirements.

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

6-Month Agency Response

Draft staff memo in development to address secondary review expectations and procedures.

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

60-Day Agency Response

Draft staff memo in development to address secondary review expectations and procedures.

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

Recommendation #7 To: Housing and Community Development, Department of

To ensure that park owners and residents have sufficient information to understand HCD's inspection process, HCD should by September 2020 establish procedures for promptly mailing notices to park owners and residents and consistently document when it mails notices.

60-Day Agency Response

CASAS function to log the date batch letters are mailed implemented on August 28, 2020

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

HCD also provided its updated procedures dated September 2020 which specify the time requirements for issuing the notices.

Recommendation #8 To: Housing and Community Development, Department of

To ensure that park owners and residents have sufficient information to understand HCD's inspection process, HCD should by September 2020 establish a process to document its reviews of compliance with time frames for mailing required notices.

60-Day Agency Response

Staff Memo 2020-06 issued August 24, 2020 establishes periodic monitoring procedures to ensure compliance with timelines set in statute and regulations. Procedures include monthly review open MPM inspections including noticing and inspection dates.

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

Recommendation #9 To: Housing and Community Development, Department of

To ensure that park owners and residents have sufficient information to understand HCD's inspection process, HCD should by September 2020 establish procedures to ensure that it invites residents to all live preinspection conferences it conducts.

1-Year Agency Response

Staff Memo 2021-07 issued May 24, 2021 provides direction and information on the requirements for Mobilehome Park Maintenance preinspection conferences and preinspection orientations.

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

6-Month Agency Response

Staff memo 2020-07.1 issued December 8, 2020 clarifies pre-inspection conference noticing requirements.

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

The Staff Memo that HCD provided does not fully implement our recommendation because it sets forward an expectation that its staff conduct pre-inspection meetings with park management but does not include procedures to ensure it invites residents to those meetings, as we recommended.

60-Day Agency Response

Notices updated to include inspection conference and pre-inspection conference language. Staff Memo 2020-07 issued August 24, 2020 clarifies requirements.

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

HCD's Staff Memo 2020-07 is written for "during COVID," and suspends live presentations. As such, the memo does not address the issues we identified in the recommendation.

Recommendation #10 To: Housing and Community Development, Department of

To ensure that complaints alleging potential health and safety violations are inspected in a timely manner, HCD should by September 2020 begin periodically monitoring its compliance with time requirements for conducting complaint inspections.

60-Day Agency Response

Staff Memo 2020-08 issued August 24, 2020 clarifies complaint inspection timeframes and establishes expectations for weekly monitoring of complaints to ensure compliance and resolution.

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

HCD also provided documentation to demonstrate that it has begun periodically monitoring compliance.

Recommendation #11 To: Housing and Community Development, Department of

To demonstrate that it is making reasonable efforts to consult with complainants before inspectors perform complaint inspections, HCD should by January 2021 develop procedures to require inspectors to document a reasonable number of attempts to contact complainants before conducting the inspection of the complaint.

6-Month Agency Response

Staff Memo 2020-15 issued December 8, 2020 clarifies procedural requirements for notifying complainants of the results of complaint investigations conducted within mobilehome and special occupancy parks under HCD jurisdiction and/or available options to seek other remedies if the complaint investigation does not reveal a violation of the Health and Safety Code or associated regulations.

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

60-Day Agency Response

HCD to develop procedures and release staff memo on reasonable efforts to consult complainants prior to complaint inspections.

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

Recommendation #12 To: Housing and Community Development, Department of

To demonstrate that it is making reasonable efforts to inform complainants of the results, HCD should by January 2021 develop procedures to require staff to notify complainants in writing of the results of the inspection and document the notification.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From July 2021

Staff Memo 2021-09, which rescinds and replaces Staff Memo 2021-03 clarifies procedural requirements for notifying complainants of the results of complaint investigations conducted within mobilehome and special occupancy parks under Department jurisdiction and/or available options to seek other remedies if the complaint investigation does not reveal a violation of the Health and Safety Code or associated regulations. Database enhancements to provide and memorialize written documentation were deployed on June 28, 2021.

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

1-Year Agency Response

Staff Memo 2020-15 was rescinded and replaced with Staff Memo 2021-03, issued on 2/26/2021. This new staff memo (2021-03) clarifies procedural requirements for notifying complainants of the results of complaint investigations conducted within mobilehome and special occupancy parks under HCD jurisdiction and/or available options to seek other remedies if the complaint investigation does not reveal a violation of the Health and Safety Code or associated regulations.

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

Among other things, Staff Memo 2021-03 directs staff to mail a copy of the closing report to the complainant at the completion of a complaint investigation when the complainant has provided an address. However, HCD also indicated it has not yet implemented the change to its database that will generate the closing report for mailing, but estimates the necessary changes will be made in July 2021.

6-Month Agency Response

Staff Memo 2020-15 issued December 8, 2020 clarifies procedural requirements for notifying complainants of the results of complaint investigations conducted within mobilehome and special occupancy parks under HCD jurisdiction and/or available options to seek other remedies if the complaint investigation does not reveal a violation of the Health and Safety Code or associated regulations.

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

Staff Memo 2020-15 allows staff to notify complainants of the outcome of its complaint inspections, but it does not require them to do so, as we recommended. Further, the memo does not include a requirement to document the post-inspection communication, as we recommended.

60-Day Agency Response

HCD to develop procedures and release staff memo on written notice requirements and documentation of complaint results.

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

Recommendation #13 To: Housing and Community Development, Department of

To demonstrate that it is making reasonable efforts to notify complainants of options available if their allegations are not health and safety violations or fall outside HCD jurisdiction, HCD should by January 2021 develop procedures to verify that inspectors include information about complainants' right to pursue private civil or other action when applicable.

6-Month Agency Response

Staff Memo 2020-15 issued December 8, 2020 clarifies procedural requirements for notifying complainants of the results of complaint investigations conducted within mobilehome and special occupancy parks under HCD jurisdiction and/or available options to seek other remedies if the complaint investigation does not reveal a violation of the Health and Safety Code or associated regulations.

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

HCD also provided Staff Memo 2020-8.1, issued November 5, 2020, which establishes HCD's process for review of inspectors' work to evaluate compliance with rules and regulations.

60-Day Agency Response

HCD to develop procedures and release staff memo to instruct inspectors to provide additional information to complainants on potential resources and rights.

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

Recommendation #14 To: Housing and Community Development, Department of

To ensure that HCD promptly communicates all required information to park owners and residents, HCD should by September 2020 review and revise the notices it issues to ensure that they comply with statutory requirements, such as providing information regarding the right to appeal inspectors' decisions and a list of local agencies that offer home rehabilitation or repair programs.

60-Day Agency Response

CASAS function to include county resource list with MPM notice of violation deployed to production August 28, 2020.

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

HCD's CASAS database generates the notices of violation that it sends to mobile home park residents. The additional CASAS function HCD describes in its response automatically appends the list of local agencies to the notice of violation letter, and that notice of violation letter has been updated to include the missing statutory language described in the recommendation.

Recommendation #15 To: Housing and Community Development, Department of

To ensure that HCD promptly communicates all required information to park owners and residents, HCD should by September 2020 establish a process to review notifications annually for compliance with any changes in its inspection procedures.

60-Day Agency Response

Staff Memo 2020-09 issued August 24, 2020 outlines process to annually review MPM letters and notification of for compliance with statuary and regulatory requirements.

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

Recommendation #16 To: Housing and Community Development, Department of

To ensure that HCD appropriately uses the revenue from fees it collects for the parks program activities only for the fees' intended purposes, HCD should by September 2020 require staff, including inspectors, in the codes and standards division to charge hours that accurately reflect the work they perform.

60-Day Agency Response

Staff Memo 2020-10 issued August 24, 2020 rescinds prior timesheet guidance, directs actual time associated with each inspection to be included in the appropriate service location and details activities to be reported into CASAS.

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

Recommendation #17 To: Housing and Community Development, Department of

To ensure that HCD appropriately tracks the time inspectors spend on each program activity, HCD should by September 2020 rescind the time reporting guidance in the August 2015 memorandum and issue new guidance in accordance with HCD policy. It should then require managers to verify the accuracy of inspector timesheets.

60-Day Agency Response

Staff Memo 2020-10 issued August 24, 2020 rescinds prior timesheet guidance, directs actual time associated with each inspection to be included in the appropriate service location and details activities to be reported into CASAS.

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

HCD updated the memo it refers in its response in September 2020 to include direction to managers to review employee timesheets monthly to ensure accuracy in time reporting.

Recommendation #18 To: Housing and Community Development, Department of

To ensure that HCD is able to determine its anticipated workload needs, HCD should by September 2020 establish procedures that ensure that staff accurately record each inspector's time spent on program activities in CASAS.

60-Day Agency Response

Staff Memo 2020-11 issued August 24, 2020, details activities, including administrative time, that should be reported to appropriate staff for data entry in CASAS.

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

Recommendation #19 To: Housing and Community Development, Department of

To prevent misuse of state time and state vehicles by inspectors, HCD should by September 2020 establish a formal process to routinely monitor vehicle usage, including specifics on how and when managers should review inspectors' GPS data, such as information on location and mileage use, to ensure that inspectors use state vehicles and state time only for their official duties.

60-Day Agency Response

Staff Memo 2020-12 issued August 24, 2020 outlines the process HCD will use to monitor the use of state-owned vehicles including requiring a signed vehicle use form no less often than biennially and establishes expectations for reviewing and responding to GPS reports.

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

Recommendation #20 To: Housing and Community Development, Department of

To ensure that it is aware of any potential conflicts of interest that its inspectors may have, HCD should by September 2020 develop procedures to review the annual and assuming-position Form 700s of all inspectors with reportable financial interests to identify potential conflicts of interest.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From July 2022

Form 700 manual fully implemented in February 2022 to review annual and assuming-position Form 700s of all inspectors with reportable financial interests to identify potential conflicts of interest.

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

1-Year Agency Response

On or about February 18, 2021, current and former HCD employees who previously failed to comply with Form 700 filing requirements were referred to the Fair Political Practice Commission (FPPC) per FPPC guidelines.

HCD also recently hired a new staff member to oversee the Form 700 filing process (referred to as HCD's Compliance Specialist). The Compliance Specialist will send emails/letters to all individuals who fail to timely file required statements. Individuals who do not properly respond to these notices will be referred to the FPPC pursuant to FPPC guidelines.

The Compliance Specialist will also ensure that HCD's inspectors file all required statements, and then will specifically review those statements to identify any conflicts of interest as required by this audit finding.

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

HCD's Form 700 process manual does not require review of filing materials in all instances when an inspector has identified reportable financial interests, as we recommended.

6-Month Agency Response

LAD working on flow chart depicting Form 700 process. Second Notice letters regarding form 700 filing non-compliance (relating to missing annual statements and/or leaving office statements) were mailed/emailed to non-compliant individuals on or about October 12, 2020. Non-compliant individuals who do not respond to the Second Notice letters within 45 days will be referred to the Fair Political Practice Commission (FPPC) per FPPC guidelines. Emails/letters relating to individuals who have failed to file assuming office statements/annual statements will be sent once new form 700 staff member is hired.

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

60-Day Agency Response

The HCD Legal Affairs Division (LAD) is working on flow chart depicting Form 700 process. First Notice letters regarding form 700 filing non-compliance (relating to missing annual statements and/or leaving office statements) were mailed/emailed to non-compliant individuals on or about August 13, 2020. Second notice letters will be mailed out in 60 days per Fair Political Practice Commission guidelines. Failure to respond to second notice will result in referral to the FPPC. Emails/letters relating to individuals who have failed to file assuming office statements/annual statements will be sent once new form 700 staff member is hired.

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

Recommendation #21 To: Housing and Community Development, Department of

To ensure that it is aware of any potential conflicts of interest that its inspectors may have, HCD should by September 2020 develop procedures to ensure that staff promptly notify the Form 700 filing officer of all inspectors hired or leaving HCD employment.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From July 2022

Form 700 manual fully implemented in February 2022 to ensure that staff promptly notify the Form 700 filing officer of all inspectors hired or leaving HCD employment.

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

1-Year Agency Response

HCD has developed the following process in response to this audit finding:

HCD's Human Resources Branch (HRB), will notify the Compliance Specialist upon the hiring or separation of any HCD employee. The HRB will do so via email (as it currently does with many other divisions and branches within the Department).

The Compliance Specialist will then contact the new/former employee and direct them to file the required statement/s. The Compliance Specialist will monitor filings on the SouthTec application to determine if the required statement/s have been properly filed. If they have not, the Compliance Specialist will notify the new/former employee of the need to file the required statement/s and provide the necessary notifications as directed by FPPC guidelines.

If the new/former employees do not comply with these notices and file the required statement/s, the Compliance Officer will report non-filers to the FPPC pursuant to FPPC guidelines.

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

HCD's Form 700 process manual describes adding new filers and altering the status of filers when they change positions within HCD so that the filer receives notification of requirement to file a Form 700. However, the manual does not establish procedures for ensuring that designated filers leaving employment complete their Form 700s. Additionally, the procedures do not specify the process for notifying the filing officer when inspectors start or end their employment with HCD, as we recommended.

6-Month Agency Response

HCD to draft procedures to ensure Form 700 filing officer is notified upon employment or separation of inspectors. HR responsibility upon separation of employee. HR notifies Form 700 coordinator (Compliance Specialist in LAD) of hiring or separation. The Form 700 coordinator is on an email that is sent out to many departments, including IT, when an employee joins the department or separates. Form 700 coordinator contacts employee or former employee to file either leaving office statement or assuming office statement. Form 700 coordinator continues to monitor filings on SouthTec to determine if statements have been filed. If they have not, second notices will be generated pursuant to FPPC guidelines. If they still have not filed these statements, Form 700 Coordinator will report non-filers to FPPC.

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

60-Day Agency Response

HCD to draft procedures to ensure Form 700 filing officer is notified upon employment or separation of inspectors. HR responsibility upon separation of employee. HR notifies Form 700 coordinator (Compliance Specialist in Legal Affairs Division) of hiring or separation. The Form 700 coordinator is on an email that is sent out to many departments, including IT, when an employee joins the department or separates. Form 700 coordinator contacts employee or former employee to file either leaving office statement or assuming office statement. Form 700 coordinator continues to monitor filings on SouthTec to determine if statements have been filed. If they have not, second notices will be generated pursuant to FPPC guidelines. If they still have not filed these statements, Form 700 Coordinator will report non-filers to FPPC.

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

Recommendation #22 To: Housing and Community Development, Department of

To ensure that it is aware of any potential conflicts of interest that inspectors may have involving real property, HCD should by January 2021 amend its conflict-of-interest code to require inspectors to disclose financial interests in real property.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From August 2022

Per our last response:

The Conflict of Interest Code Amendment has been approved by FPPC on 5/6/2022. Forthwith will be sent to OAL for file and print so it can be provided to Secretary of State for official endorsement thereafter it will be effective 30 days after endorsement.

The Secretary of State has endorsed and filed the Conflict of Interest as of July 9, 2022. The Notice Publication was provided to the CSA. It is also currently available on Westlaw.

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

HCD has fully implemented this recommendation.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From July 2022

The Conflict of Interest Code Amendment has been approved by FPPC on 5/6/2022. Forthwith will be sent to OAL for file and print so it can be provided to Secretary of State for official endorsement thereafter it will be effective 30 days after endorsement.

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

1-Year Agency Response

HCD is working with senior management and the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) to properly revise the Department's Conflict-of-Interest (COI) Code. The COI Code update will specifically: (1) require inspectors, i.e., Codes and Standards Administrators and District Representatives with the Field Operations Unit of the Division of Codes and Standards, to disclose financial interest in real property (as recommended by the audit); and (2) update the list of all other designated positions within HCD (that make or participate in making governmental decisions that may foreseeably have a material effect on any financial interest) and their corresponding disclosure category (specifying the financial interests the employee/official must disclose on their Form 700). HCD has been in regular communication with the FPPC to ensure that this comprehensive COI Code update is completed as soon as possible.

HCD submit the Department's proposed COI Code with explanation for changes to the FPPC for initial on May 28, 2021. Further benchmarks include the following: (1) complete HCD/FPPC review and discussion by the end of June 2021, with routing and approval by the Director's Office to follow; (2) File the Form 400 with the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) and conduct the 45-day public notice period by the end of July 2021; and (3) provide the proposed COI Code to the FPPC for final approval by the end of September 2021. Upon the FPPC Director or designee approving HCD's proposed COI Code and notifying HCD of its approval, HCD will then file the now-approved COI Code with OAL, who in turn will send it to the Secretary of State (SOS) for endorsement. Thereafter, the now-approved COI Code will become effective 30 days from the SOS's endorsement.

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

6-Month Agency Response

Amended Conflict of Interest code language was sent to the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) for initial review on September 15, 2020, to be included in an expedited rulemaking so it can be implemented by January 1, 2021, due date. FPPC will not approve the proposed change without further updates to COI appendix. The Department's Legal Affairs Division is taking on updates as they impact entire Dept. Codes and Standards Division will likely miss the January 1, 2021 implementation deadline by state auditor; notified Department audit team of risk and have been advised to document efforts for reporting to State.

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

60-Day Agency Response

HR and Legal Affairs Division (LAD) are working on a new statement of incompatible activities. LAD has requested and received copies of statement of incompatible activities from other agencies and is currently reviewing those drafts and working on a revision version. Draft revision will be circulated on or before September 18.

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

Recommendation #23 To: Housing and Community Development, Department of

To ensure that it complies with state law regarding reporting requirements for Form 700s, by August 2020 HCD should notify inspectors with missing Form 700s of their responsibility to file and the potential penalties that may be assessed if they fail to do so. HCD should notify the Fair Political Practices Commission about any inspectors who do not submit the forms as required after notification was sent as well as those who should have submitted Form 700s but who cannot be located as of August 2020.

6-Month Agency Response

Second Notice letters regarding form 700 filing non-compliance (relating to missing annual statements and/or leaving office statements) were mailed/emailed to non-compliant individuals on or about October 12, 2020. Non-compliant individuals who do not respond to the Second Notice Letters within 45 days will be referred to the Fair Political Practice Commission (FPPC) per FPPC guidelines. Emails/letters relating to individuals who have failed to file assuming office statements/annual statements will be sent once new form 700 staff member is hired.

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

HCD implemented our recommendation by notifying the Fair Political Practices Commission in February 2021 of the inspectors who had not submitted Form 700s as required.

60-Day Agency Response

HR and Legal Affairs Division (LAD) are working on a new statement of incompatible activities. LAD has requested and received copies of statement of incompatible activities from other agencies and is currently reviewing those drafts and working on a revision version. Draft revision will be circulated on or before September 18.

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

HCD's response does not address the recommendation. The new statement of incompatible activities that HCD references is not relevant to our recommendation. Our recommendation specifies that HCD should notify inspectors with missing Form 700s of their responsibility to file the Form 700 and the potential penalties that may be assessed if they fail to do so. HCD should also notify the Fair Political Practices Commission about any inspectors who do not submit the forms as required after notification was sent as well as those who should have submitted Form 700s but who HCD cannot locate.

Recommendation #24 To: Housing and Community Development, Department of

To demonstrate that it appropriately addresses all complaints alleging inspector misconduct, HCD should by September 2020 establish policies to document all complaints against inspectors and the steps it takes to address those complaints.

60-Day Agency Response

Staff Memo 2020-13 issued August 24, 2020 outlines the complaint process against DR I/DR II (non-peace officer). It memorializes the compliant process steps and form in which complaints should be documented.

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

Recommendation #25 To: Housing and Community Development, Department of

To demonstrate that it appropriately addresses all complaints alleging inspector misconduct, HCD should by September 2020 refer all complaints against inspectors alleging misconduct to its equal employment opportunity officer or other individual specified in policy.

60-Day Agency Response

Staff Memo 2020-13 issued August 24, 2020 outlines the complaint process against DR I/DR II (non-peace officer). It memorializes the compliant process steps and form in which complaints should be documented.

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

Recommendation #26 To: Housing and Community Development, Department of

To ensure that HCD evaluates LEA oversight of mobile home parks effectively, by January 2021 HCD should continue its efforts to finalize its policies and procedures for evaluating LEAs and ensure that staff members follow its procedures for handling complaints it forwards to those LEAs.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From July 2022

Staff Memo 2022-01 Complaint Inspection Time Frames and Monitoring Guidelines was released on June 9, 2022. The Staff Memo establishing an auditing process of health and safety complaints referred to LEAs, and to provide direction to MAC staff for proper documenting, monitoring, and auditing of associated processes and time frames.

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

HCD has fully implemented this recommendation.

1-Year Agency Response

Training on Local Enforcement Agencies for the Mobilehome Park and Employee Housing Programs was conducted on April 28, 2021. During the training, LEA monitoring Evaluations procedures were issued to all attendees.

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

Although HCD provided finalized procedures for evaluating LEAs, it has not provided procedures that it has established to ensure that staff follow its procedures for handling complaints it forwarded to those LEAs.

6-Month Agency Response

HCD updated Article 521 Mobilehome Park/Special Occupancy Park and Employee Housing Complaint procedural manual and disseminated to staff with Staff Memo 2020-16 on December 8, 2020.

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

HCD indicated by email that it erroneously referenced Article 521, its procedure for complaint investigations, in its response and that it should have instead referenced staff memo 2020-14.1. The staff memo partially addresses our recommendation as it provides guidance for selecting LEAs for monitoring, and the means by which it will conduct evaluations at parks it selects. However, the staff memo does not fully address our recommendation because it does not include a process to ensure that its staff members follow the procedures for handling complaints forwarded to LEAs. Therefore, we assess the recommendation as partially implemented.

60-Day Agency Response

LEA monitoring procedures approved. Procedures include evaluation selection process, ranking of LEAs for evaluation, distribution of evaluations between Area Offices, and evaluation process. HCD to issue staff memo and provide training to inform program staff of new process.

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

Recommendation #27 To: Housing and Community Development, Department of

To ensure that HCD evaluates LEA oversight of mobile home parks effectively, by January 2021 HCD should develop a formalized schedule to evaluate an adequate number of LEAs each year. HCD could establish a risk-based approach for selecting LEAs to evaluate.

6-Month Agency Response

Staff memo 2020-14.1 LEA Evaluation released November 13, 2020 addresses selection and monitoring of Local Enforcement Agencies for the Mobilehome Park and Employee Housing Programs and includes selection criteria and monitoring schedule.

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

60-Day Agency Response

HCD to develop LEA Monitoring schedule.

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

Recommendation #28 To: Housing and Community Development, Department of

To ensure that HCD evaluates LEA oversight of mobile home parks effectively, by January 2021 HCD should develop formal training for its inspectors in the use of its inspection checklist when conducting LEA evaluations.

6-Month Agency Response

Mobilehome Parks/Special Occupancy Parks and Employee Housing programs developed a PowerPoint training presentation to deliver to District Inspectors on Local Enforcement Agency Evaluation. The presentation covers the role of programs and field inspectors, relevant forms and documentation, and a timetable for completion.

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

HCD developed training for its inspectors and indicates it plans to conduct the training in late April 2021.

60-Day Agency Response

HCD to develop LEA Monitoring training program.

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

All Recommendations in 2019-111

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.