Senate Rules Committee forwards state fiscal system director nominee after briefing on FISCal progress and migration plan

The Senate Rules Committee voted to forward Brett Lodding, J.D., to the full Senate for confirmation as director overseeing California’s financial information system (FISCal) after a hearing on system progress, onboarding and modernization plans.

Brett Lodding told the committee that most departments have been onboarded to FISCal, the accounting book-of-record migration is on track for next July, and the system’s public transparency platform (OpenFISCal) is active and updated regularly. “Five months into the job, I feel good about where FISCal is headed,” Lodding said, thanking prior directors and partner agencies for progress.

Why it matters: FISCal is the state’s enterprise financial-management platform. Committee members pressed for metrics on onboarding, timeline clarity and lessons learned because FISCal replaces many legacy accounting systems and underpins reporting, audits and budget controls.

What the committee heard

- Onboarding and timeline: Lodding said two deferred departments were underway as of the hearing (Department of Justice and Caltrans had been in progress), reducing the number of deferred departments to six. He reported roughly 151 departments onboarded, about 14 remaining dependent on counting conventions, and said the legislative roadmap schedules completion of deferred department onboarding through about 2032.

- Accounting migration and modernization: Lodding told senators the accounting book-of-record migration is on track for next July. He described a phased cloud migration already underway and said FISCal’s core vendor software (PeopleSoft and Hyperion) is actively supported for roughly another decade; the department will consider a core modernization after the accounting migration and stabilization.

- Metrics and user readiness: Lodding said month-end and year-end close performance improved as departments learned the system: the portion of departments closing on time has risen to well over 90% from the mid-70s earlier in the rollout. He highlighted planned efficiency improvements including electronic invoicing and electronic funds transfer to reduce manual processes.

Committee questions and responses

Senator Caballero asked how many deferred departments remained and whether any previously exempt departments had opted into FISCal. Lodding said two deferred departments were in progress and that the state auditor—a previously exempt entity—had recently onboarded. He summarized lessons learned: additional training, previewing system workflows for departments, and refining the onboarding process.

Senator Laird asked how FISCal has kept pace with changing technology given the program’s long rollout. Lodding said the system has been updated repeatedly, a cloud migration is underway in phases, and the vendor-supported core software remains actively maintained for about 10 years, giving the state time to plan a future modernization after the accounting migration.

Committee action

Senator Laird moved to forward the nomination to the Senate floor for confirmation; the committee recorded a 5–0 vote (Maguire: aye; Grove: aye; Caballero: aye; Jones: aye; Laird: aye).

Ending

The committee kept the roll open briefly to await a returning senator, then closed the roll and directed the nomination to the full Senate for confirmation.