A follow-up with state agencies from the Department of Legislative Post Audit found that of nine recommendations to selected state agencies made in 2023, only four were followed, and only the Secretary of State’s Office replied to the audit.
For instance, after auditing the Kansas Department of Revenue’s collection of sales and compensating-use taxes on motor vehicles, LPA made four recommendations:
- Create and implement the missing procedures related to the monitoring and enforcement of counties: (a) Progressively increasing enforcement actions, (b) Use MOVRS data to identify suspicious sales prices or tax exemptions.
- Develop and implement a process to improve the accuracy of existing and ongoing vehicle registration data submitted through MOVRS.
- Provide the current, up-to-date sales tax guidance document to the dealership portal. They should also provide tax guidance updates in the portal as those are made. They should consider whether there are points in time when they should offer dealerships a chance to retake the KDOR training
- Formally document all existing and new procedures related to motor vehicle training, guidance, monitoring, and enforcement.
The follow-up found that KDOR fully implemented only the third recommendation and only partially implemented the other three.
The audit of the Kansas Secretary of State’s Office evaluated whether county election offices had adequate procedures to ensure the accuracy and security of voting machines, ballots, storage units, and devices used during elections.
“The audit found the 15 counties we reviewed had some security practices that were adequate and others that were inadequate, compared to 55 best practices and state laws,” the report reads. “The audit also found that none of the 15 counties had adequate written policies.”
Auditors made three recommendations:
- Create example election security policies and standardized forms to offer to county election officers to use at their discretion. The Secretary of State’s office should consider working with officials from counties with stronger practices to adapt these practices for all counties to use:
- Use county election officers’ annual training or new certification program to train them in the importance, proper implementation, and effective oversight of election security statutes and best practices. This would include guidance on which security best practices counties should implement as a baseline:
- Provide guidance to county election officers on what materials to seal in ballot containers and what materials should not be sealed so they are available for public review.
The first recommendation was partially implemented, the second was fully implemented, and the third was not implemented, auditors found.
The state Director of Elections, Bryan Caskey, responded to the audit.
“The Secretary of State’s office, having provided guidance in the manner and format in which county election offices are accustomed to receiving, will provide an update to the Kansas Election Standards specifically referencing the state statute,” he wrote. “Although there is already guidance provided on ballots being placed in sealed containers and stored until the time of destruction, an emphasis will be placed on the statute, and the nuances different voting systems and solutions have on effectively following the statute.”
All five of Kansas’ groundwater management districts implemented the single recommendation from the audit: Develop written policies that describe when and how they will revise their management programs.
The departments of Commerce and Revenue likewise followed the one recommendation in the audit: Develop a way to identify individuals participating in both parts of the Rural Opportunity Zones Program to enhance the quality of future program evaluations.
