California lawmakers held the first oversight hearing Thursday to investigate the state’s special funds accounts.
At issue is how $54 million dollars in surplus Parks Department funds were hidden for twelve years in two separate accounts. Assemblymember Bob Blumenfield, Chair of the Budget Subcommittee, said the public’s faith in the budget has been shaken.
“All the members of this committee need to be able to look their constituents in the eye and said we’ve done all that we can do, and we have been given an ironclad commitment that there are no additional hidden funds,” said Blumenfield.
Officials from the Department of Finance, the Legislative Analyst Office and the Controller’s Office testified at the hearing. A representative with the LAO told the committee that the Parks department situation is “unacceptable” but isolated.
He went on to say discrepancies in other special fund accounts that were discovered in an audit last week, were a result of “sloppiness” and “confusion” among financial staff.
