Editorial: More reason to dump California’s little known elected tax board

Can we finally stop electing the members of the state Board of Equalization?

The Times’ editorial board has argued for years that the five-member board, which administers more than 30 state taxes and fees, ought to be disbanded and either reconstituted entirely with appointees or subsumed into the Franchise Tax Board. The quasi-judicial Board of Equalization, the nation’s only elected tax commission, is little more than a well-paid landing place for politicians on their way up (or down). It’s problematic to have tax disputes decided by politicians, especially when they raise campaign money from people whose cases may come before the board. And it’s unfair and unrealistic to ask voters to make informed decisions about whom to elect to such obscure posts.

As if we needed one, now there’s another reason. According to a recent audit, elected board members may be misusing the agency’s staff and funds to serve their own political interests. That was one of the findings of the state Department of Finance after it examined the agency, which handles $60 billion in sales, property and other tax revenue every year. The audit was launched after another inquiry found the board had misallocated $47.8 million in sales tax revenue.

According to the audit, board members spent millions on “educational and outreach� materials that seemed more like self-promotion, and commandeered administrative staff to work on pet projects. In one example,113 Board of Equalization office workers were directed to do parking and registration duties for a “Connecting Women to Power� conference put on by a board member. Also, the administration still couldn’t adequately explain what happened to that $47.8 million.

Given the behind-the-scenes nature of the board’s work, it’s not surprising that its four elected members may struggle to connect with voters across their gigantic and oddly shaped districts. Still, tax auditors pulling parking duty?

Elected board member Jerome Horton decried the audit findings as an incomplete picture and based on hearsay. But the sole member of the board who wasn’t directly elected to it — State Controller Betty Yee, an ex officio member who spent 10 years as an elected member — says there’s “prevalent misuse of resources.� She is recommending that the Legislature strip the board of its administrative duties so it can focus on hearing tax appeals.

That won’t remove all the potential conflicts of interests or reduce the burden on voters, however. When the audit goes before a state Senate budget subcommittee for a hearing next week, all the options for reform should be part of the discussion.

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