Little Hoover Commission to pursue study of financial scams after bipartisan request

The Little Hoover Commission on July 1 directed staff to pursue a study of financial scams and fraud following a letter from Senator Richard Grayson and 22 other legislators, saying the issue merits targeted policy recommendations and legislative options.

"I would offer a motion to the Senator Grayson study as our first study," Commissioner Sidley said when she placed the motion before the Commission; Commissioner Hernandez seconded. Staff noted they have bandwidth to pursue the Grayson request and one additional full study and suggested producing scoping memos for other candidate topics.

Ethan Ritter (staff) told commissioners the likely schedule would include hearings in September and October and a report at the end of the calendar year or early January. "We have staff bandwidth at the moment to pursue 2 additional studies," Ritter said, framing the timeline for scoping and hearings.

Commissioners emphasized that scoping will need to identify California actions distinct from federal or international responsibilities. Commissioner Beyer urged a focused, state-level approach to avoid ‘‘boiling the ocean’’ and to identify levers the legislature or executive can use, particularly where AI or cross-jurisdictional actors complicate authority.

The Commission directed staff to convene a subcommittee to develop a scoping memo for the Grayson request and to prepare brief scoping memos on three other topics — prison education, youth suicide, and technology in state government — for the Commission to consider at its July 28 meeting.

Next steps: staff will form the subcommittee, draft a scoping memo for the Grayson study, and return to the Commission with proposed hearing dates and a timeline for a final report.