By CARL OLSON

Former City Controller Laura Chick left Los Angeles in April to become Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s inspector general to track $50 billion in federal “stimulus” funds. In Los Angeles, Chick had no problem with instant access to all department records for her audits, except, of course, for the problem with the City Attorney’s Office.

But now at the state level we find she has no automatic access to any department records. The public is not finding out potential waste, fraud, and abuse in the funds coming to the state government under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

When the governor appointed her April 3, Schwarzenegger crowed, “I am proud to announce this first-in-the-nation position that will make sure the funds we receive from the Recovery Act are used with accountability and transparency to stimulate our economy and create jobs.” Unfortunately, he failed to give her any enforcement powers.

Now, four months later, Inspector General Chick has nothing to report (www.inspectorgeneral.ca.gov). She has hardly any staff. She was able to bring only one staffer from Los Angeles, her PR person Ron Wilcox, but no auditors.

She has gotten next to no cooperation from state departments. Her latest request of June 30 was supposed to get replies by July 20. When the 31 departments dragged their feet, she got the governor to issue a reminder letter demanding, “Recently, you received a request for Recovery Act tracking information from Inspector General Laura Chick. You must provide all information requested by her office and by the Recovery Act Task Force. Californians expect that we account in real time for every federal dollar funneled through a state agency. ” But the governor again failed to give the so-called independent inspector general any investigatory powers.

PR work

If nothing else, Chick’s PR office is at work. Her news release of Aug. 12 proclaimed “Federal, State and Local Officials Warn of Losing Billions of Stimulus Dollars to Fraud.” Chick announced, “My mission is clear. It is to deter, detect, and disclose any waste, fraud or abuse of federal stimulus dollars coming into California. Our message is simple: If you are thinking of messing with these precious dollars, know that we will find you and you will be brought to justice.”

The state’s Web site for Recovery Act funds reports that now $80 billion are at stake with the addition of $30 billion in “tax relief,” whatever that is (www.recovery.ca.gov). It says Health & Human Services has $20 billion, Education $12 billion, Labor $5 billion, Transportation $5 billion, and so on. These are undoubtedly fertile fields for wasters, fraudsters and abusers. But somehow no details about programs, amounts and recipients are open either to Chick or the California public.

Justice delayed is justice denied. We urge Chick and Schwarzenegger to get together and issue emergency regulations giving her immediate independent investigatory and record-access powers. For the past 7 & #733; years, we were heartened in the numerous, hard-hitting audits that Chick produced for the L.A. public. Unfortunately in Sacramento, she has so far been hitting a stone wall. I hope this is temporary and not by design. The public can’t wait.

Carl Olson is a college accounting instructor who heads two public policy groups. He lives in Woodland Hills.