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DCA budget office: board’s per-license renewal cost exceeds fee cap; reserves shrinking
Summary
DCA budget office staff told the California Board of Occupational Therapy that the board’s estimated cost to process a license renewal is $312 — above the statutory cap — and presented fund-condition projections showing reserves declining from about 5.1 months to 4.6 months.
Kayla Van Lint and Suzanne Balcus of the Department of Consumer Affairs budget office presented an overview of the board’s fund condition and the budget office’s role at the California Board of Occupational Therapy meeting on June 13.
Van Lint summarized the budget office work: facilitating the annual budget process for DCA boards and bureaus, assisting with monthly projections, fee analysis, and coordinating with state control agencies. She reviewed the board’s expenditure and revenue projections and the fund-condition statement, noting both historical actuals and current-year projections.
Key numbers and projections cited
Van Lint gave a multi-year snapshot drawn from actuals through fiscal month 10 and the current-year projection. For 2023–24 the board began with a $1,489,000 balance, collected roughly $3,173,000 in receipts (about $466,000 from initial license fees, $2,497,000 from renewals, and $210,000 from citations and other revenue), and expended about $3,157,000, ending the year with approximately $1,500,000 in reserve (about 5.1 months).
For the 2024–25 projection, the board’s revenues are projected at about $3,325,000 (roughly $422,000 initial fees; $2,682,000 renewals; $221,000 citations and other revenue) and total expenditures are projected at about $3,525,000 (including authorized expenditures and direct draws), leaving an estimated year-end fund balance of approximately $1,305,000 (about 4.6 months in reserve).
Van Lint and DCA staff emphasized that the fund condition is a snapshot subject to change and that personal services adjustments (salary increases, retirement adjustments) are a principal driver of future expenditure increases; the budget office applies a conservative 3% ongoing increase in projections to account for such adjustments.
Cost-per-renewal and structural imbalance
DCA analysis presented to the board shows the board’s workload cost of processing one license renewal (including enforcement cost allocation) at $312 per renewal — above the statutory renewal fee cap of $300. Sam Dyer expanded on that analysis during the fee discussion and noted that without fee changes the board’s months in reserve would continue to fall and could turn negative in later years.
Board members asked clarifying questions and raised policy options, including regulatory fee increases, pursuit of a statutory cap change during the board’s sunset review (scheduled for 2026), and the potential to collect probation-monitoring fees (which staff said would require statutory authority). The budget office reiterated it will monitor the fund and coordinate with executive staff on options.
No board action was required on the budget presentation; staff and members discussed next steps in connection with the rulemaking vote the board later took on renewal fees.
