Summary of Report 02-065

August 2002

Report Number 02-065

As part of our analysis of the Compensation to Victims of Crime Fund (Fund), we assessed its viability. Beginning in 2006-2007, the Compensation to Victims of Crime Fund will not be able to fund all programs at current levels. The Office of the Attorney General (Office) generally spends appropriated funds in accordance with state laws from the General Appropriations Act and with Comptroller of Public Accounts regulations. The Office did not consistently comply with the Texas Administrative Code for its grant administration system of two programs. The Office generally has reporting processes that enable it to provide accurate and consistent financial information. However, the Office needs to test its disaster recovery plan for catastrophic disasters and update its security risk analysis for this mainframe.

• Beginning in the 2006-2007 biennium, the Fund will not have enough money to continue the 2002-2003 biennium level of appropriations ($127 million) to programs other than the Crime Victims Compensation Program and the Crime Victims Institute. The anticipated decline in funds is due to funding increases for existing programs, funding of new programs, and little anticipated growth in revenue.
  
  
• The Office generally spends appropriated funds in accordance with state laws from the General Appropriations Act and with Comptroller of Public Accounts regulations. However, the Office needs to ensure that grantees, contractors, and award recipients are spending court costs and fees for intended purposes. An Audit Report on Funds Collected as Court Costs, released in May 2002 (SAO Report No. 02-049), discusses how this issue relates to the Fund.



• The Office did not consistently comply with the Texas Administrative Code when administering Family Trust Fund and Victims Assistance Discretionary Grants. As a result, the Office cannot ensure that the grantees are conducting their grant programs in the manner prescribed. The Office awarded $15 million for these programs in fiscal year 2002.



• The Office has developed a contract administration system for its purchase orders and formal contracts that ensures contractors are selected objectively, that contract provisions are complete and well defined, and that services are performed within cost projections. We reviewed contracts and purchase orders totaling $42.1 million.
  

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