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Board endorses tiered fee proposal to bolster reserves; approves option prioritizing relief for veterinary technicians
Summary
To stabilize its fund condition and avoid near‑term insolvency, the California Veterinary Medical Board voted to submit a sunset‑bill legislative proposal creating a tiered veterinary‑premises fee structure and modest increases to veterinarian and premises fees while limiting increases to RBT fees.
The California Veterinary Medical Board voted to submit a legislative proposal—with specific statutory caps—to create a tiered fee structure for veterinary premises and to increase several license and permit statutory caps. The motion passed by roll call.
Why it matters: The board’s special fund projections showed reserves drifting below minimum levels within the next five to ten years under current fee caps. The board’s finance subcommittee developed a staged set of fee increases, beginning in fiscal year 2028–29 and phased through fiscal year 2034–35, to reduce the likelihood of insolvency and to delay the need for emergency regulatory fee changes.
What the board approved: The board chose Option 2 (the MDC‑recommended option), which increases statutory caps for veterinarian application/renewal and premises registrations while keeping RBT/RVT fees lower than the other available option. The plan creates three premises tiers based on full‑time equivalent veterinarians (small 1–3 vets; medium 4–8; large 9+), charges a per‑mobile‑unit fee for mobile units tied to a premise, and raises the statutory cap for VACSP (background check/permit) fees to better align with enforcement workload. The board also directed staff to pursue minor clean‑up language: repeal of obsolete duplicate‑license fees and provisions inconsistent with current Department of Consumer Affairs policy on delinquency charges and public records.
Stakeholder input: The board presented the plan to the California Veterinary Medical Association and other stakeholders; the option ultimately adopted preserved relief for RBT registrants (keeping those caps lower) while assigning a larger share of the revenue need to veterinarian and premises fees. Supporters argued this better targets the revenue burden to premises with greater capacity; some stakeholders suggested earlier or larger increases would also be reasonable.
Next steps: Staff will include the fee changes as part of the board’s sunset bill and pursue the statutory‑cap increases through the legislative process. If enacted, the board may later increase fees within the new statutory caps by regulation to maintain recommended reserves.
Ending
Board leaders said they prefer staged statutory changes—rather than immediate regulatory fee hikes—so that the board can preserve staffing stability and avoid frequent emergency adjustments as workload and revenue fluctuate.
