California just received another warning from its own watchdog, and if you run freight through the Golden State, it deserves your attention. The California State Auditor’s newly released High-Risk Audit Program report designates multiple state agencies and statewide systems as presenting a “substantial risk of serious detriment to the State or its residents,” citing persistent failures in data accuracy, eligibility verification, financial reporting, information security, and corrective action timelines. The report does not single out trucking, but for those who understand how freight enforcement and licensing are funded, the implications are hard to miss. Billions in New Costs, Already Baked In The most significant development in the report is the addition of the California Department of Social Services to the state’s high-risk list, following years of errors in administering CalFresh, California’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Under federal changes enacted in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, California will soon be required to fund a portion of SNAP benefits based on its payment error rate. The auditor reports that California’s error rate has hovered around 11 percent, placing it in the tier that would require the state to cover 15 percent of SNAP benefit costs, plus an additional 25 percent increase in administrative expenses starting in federal fiscal year 2028. Based on current spending levels, the report estimates $1.8 billion in new annual benefit costs and more than $600 million in additional administrative expenses, totaling nearly $2.5 billion per year Those costs land in the middle of what the auditor describes…
