A state audit revealed last week that California finance officials first caught accounting problems at the Parks Department in 1999, but they weren't addressed until last year.
Lawmakers questioned Kevin Fugitani with the Department of Finance about why the legislature wasn't informed.
"We really didn't, weren't able to find any documentation as to what really occurred throughout those years. I really don't have any explanation for that other than the fact that we recognize that this is a significant weakness."