The long-awaited report on the activities of the state commission formerly led by actor/director Rob Reiner is out. And while it raises several questions about the process used to spend millions in taxpayer dollars, including possible violations of state law, it also seems to reject the most explosive charge-- that the TV ads Reiner's commission ran in support of universal preschool might have violated legal restrictions on political activities.

The full 88 page report from State Auditor Elaine Howle is here. In it, she and her team of investigators describe a system in place at the California Children and Families Commission devoid of sufficient checks and balances.

Howle's report identifies $623,000 in payments to a media agency that went beyond the scope of the formal contract, including payments that the agency allegedly claimed were for subcontractors... when, in fact, the auditor says the three individuals getting the cash were actually employees of the media agency. As a result, the commission-- chaired at the time by Reiner--allowed the media agency to "circumvent" the contract, according to the auditor's report.

And Howle's report finds evidence that some of the work done was in support of Proposition 82, the universal preschool initiative championed by Reiner in 2006. "Although these activities were permissible using public funds," the report says, "these types of payments were not allowable under the terms of the contract."

Howle's report uncovers some documentation that suggests there were people who knew the payments were a bad idea. In one instance, she details an email sent by media agency GMMB that said, in part: "Running your expenses through our contract is a favor [our agency] is doing for Rob [Reiner]."

Other oddities... a $3.1 million invoice with a public broadcasting station that didn't include documentation to support "any of the charges"... some $47.7 million in contracts that may have been awarded without receiving the minimum number of competitive bids... and contracts totaling $90 million that the auditor says were not properly advertised before being awarded.

But the most explosive charge leveled against Reiner was that the state commission he chaired might have used taxpayer dollars on TV ads that helped promote the ballot initiative, Prop 82, his political team was promoting.

The auditor's report largely finds these charges as unsubstantiated, and that "the content of these advertisements and the timing of their broadcast were consistent with applicable legal restrictions related to the use of public funds for political purposes."

No word on what the audit will lead to in terms of further investigations. And while it effectively ends the story as far as Reiner is concerned, the controversy is likely to surface all over again should the Hollywood star consider new forays into the world of politics.