Vacation buy-out On July 15, 2012, the Sacramento Bee newspaper reported that the Deputy Director of Administration at California State Parks had orchestrated $271,000 in vacation buy-outs for himself and 55 other administrative employees. A vacation buy out allows one to be paid today for vacation time that would otherwise be used in the future or cashed-out at retirement. While vacation buy-outs are allowed, these buy-outs were reported to have been done secretly.[12] Hidden funds Following the vacation buy-out scandal of 2012, the department revealed that two accounts were discovered totaling $54 million that had been hidden for 12 years. One fund was for the Off Highway Vehicle division and one for the state park division. This scandal resulted in the immediate resignation of the director and firing of the acting chief deputy director.[12]