PD Editorial: State should eliminate Board of Equalization

It’s pretty safe to assume that most Californians don’t give a lot of thought to the state Board of Equalization.

To go a step further, most of us probably wouldn’t notice if the board went away.

Now that’s something that Californians would be wise to consider - eliminating an anachronistic, scandal-plagued and largely anonymous board consisting of four elected members, plus state controller.

Sure it’s rare for a government program, much less an entire agency, to be disbanded. But the Board of Equalization is looking like a fine candidate for the scrap heap of state history.

Pop quiz: What does the board do?

A. Tests the accuracy of gasoline pumps, produce scales and other commercial weighing and measuring devices.

B. Administers tax programs and assesses property values for taxing railroads and public utilities.

C. Enforces state pay-equity laws.

D. Ensures that public school districts receive equal funding from the state.

The board is supposed to do “B,” administering tax programs and handling certain assessments. In practice, its focus seems to be spending an inordinate amount of money on its own operations and serving as a soft landing spot for elected officials facing term limits elsewhere.

A recently released audit said the agency couldn’t explain how it misallocated tens of millions of taxpayer dollars, that board members directed agency tax auditors to work as parking assistants at promotional - read political - events and that agency managers couldn’t explain the informal establishment of a call center, the creation of an unofficial office and inconsistent use of community liaisons.

Auditors from the state Department of Finance found issues within each of the four board member’s operations but identified the most widespread problems in the office of Jerome Horton, a Southern California Democrat.

This isn’t the first time that Horton’s use of public resources has come under scrutiny. Last year, the Sacramento Bee reported that he spent $118,000 of public money to redecorate his Sacramento office.

Horton also found a job for Cynthia Bridges, who was ousted as the board’s executive officer after a previous audit, this one conducted by the state Controller’s Office, concluded that the agency had misallocated $47.8 million in tax revenue.

State legislators sharply criticized the agency during a budget hearing this week in Sacramento, and state Controller Betty Yee, who serves on the Board of Equalization, recently called on Gov. Jerry Brown and state lawmakers to strip the agency of most of its duties.

Yee’s recommendation would leave the board with responsibility for handling tax appeals. But there have been questions over the years about the influence of politics in those decisions.

Each member of the Board of Equalization represents about 10 million constituents - more than the governors of 43 states. Yet most of the members are as unknown as the agency they serve.

California is the only state with an elected Board of Equalization. It could just as easily be consolidated with the state’s other tax agency, the Franchise Tax Board, as Gov. Pete Wilson recommended two decades ago.

Chances are, no one would notice it was gone.