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POST proposes raising maximum reimbursement rates for certified courses; staff estimate multi‑million dollar impact
Summary
POST staff proposed updating reimbursement caps in regulation 1054—some limits date to 1999—and presented data showing a substantial increase in allowable instructor and support rates would raise POST reimbursements by an estimated $2.78 million annually and could increase field tuition costs in some scenarios.
POST staff proposed updating the maximum hourly and per‑presentation reimbursement limits that appear in Commission regulation 1054. Bureau chief Bridal Neumeier and a staff working group told the advisory committee the regulation’s reimbursement limits date from 1999 and no longer reflect current costs for instructors, coordinators and clerical support.
Neumeier described the methodology used to propose new ranges: a presenter survey (many incomplete responses were discarded), Bureau of Labor Statistics inflation adjustments, California Employment Development Department occupational salary ranges, and California state HR/classification comparators. Using those indicators, staff recommended a material raise in maximum allowable payments—most prominently increasing the top instructor rate from the 1999 ceiling (previously $90 per hour) to a proposed maximum of $155 per hour while keeping a modest floor (current $35). Staff recommended corresponding increases in coordination and clerical caps to better reflect market conditions.
Neumeier presented a fiscal analysis based on historical course budgets and the proposed reimbursement ranges. Using POST internal course data and a range of model adjustments, staff estimated the change would increase POST’s reimbursements by about $2.78 million per year. Staff also estimated the field‑level impact could be up to $20.9 million per year in higher tuition or non‑reimbursable training costs borne by agencies or trainees, depending on whether presenters chose to increase prices. POST staff said the agency expects to absorb the roughly $2.78 million through existing training and local assistance allocations rather than requesting an immediate supplemental appropriation, but stressed that the proposed regulation must still clear departmental and Office of Administrative Law review.
Advisory members and presenters raised concerns about potential tuition impacts and geographic variability in instructor markets; POST staff said the proposed ranges include floors and ceilings to allow lower‑cost providers to remain competitive while enabling presenters in higher‑cost regions to cover actual expenses. Staff emphasized the proposal is a 25‑year cleanup and can be revisited periodically using the same indicators.
