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Board approves updated strategic plan, agrees to revise admin manual holding rules and praises sunset review
Summary
The board approved changes to its strategic plan (DEI updates), agreed to revise its administrative manual to require one vote to place a matter on hold for discussion, and praised staff for a smooth sunset review; the board also discussed social media and outreach.
The Podiatric Medical Board of California voted to accept an updated strategic plan and debated internal procedural changes and outreach steps during its Jan. 23, 2025 meeting.
A motion to accept the board’s strategic-plan update — which incorporated edits from a facilitated DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) workshop held in October — was moved by Doctor McElhin and seconded by Doctor Glaser. The board adopted the update by roll-call vote, with Doctor Lee, Doctor Glaser, Doctor Patel and Doctor McAloon recorded as “accept.”
Staff and board members also discussed a proposed change to the administrative manual clarifying how many board votes are required to hold (delay) a proposed adoption of an ALJ proposed decision or stipulated settlement and bring it to full-board discussion. Historically the board had followed a practice used by many DCA boards that treated two votes as a threshold; several members said the board’s small size and prior practice support letting a single board member request a hold.
Legal counsel and staff explained practical constraints: Bagley–Keene open-meeting requirements, the need for a quorum and a roughly 100-day deadline tied to the ALJ decision cycle. Staff proposed language formalizing the practice and initially recommended two votes as the threshold. In discussion the board asked staff to change the draft to require one member’s request to hold a matter for discussion, to remove language treating a “no” vote as a de facto hold, and to bring finalized admin-manual language for a vote at the board’s June meeting.
On outreach, staff said the board will update its newsletter and social-media plans after checking DCA guidance. Kathleen Cooper invited board members to suggest newsletter content and said the Special Olympics volunteer opportunity would be publicized. Board members asked staff to consult DCA and board-relations guidance before adding new social media channels and to check what the American Podiatric Medical Association posts as a model.
Board members also reflected on the recent sunset review hearing. Board members and staff praised the preparation and the hearing outcome: board leaders said the joint legislative committee asked few substantive questions and indicated strong support for the board’s work. “All this prep, months and months worth of prep and loss of sleep… I just want to say thank you to Doctor McElhin. She did a fantastic job,” the executive officer said. Members said the record reflected a thorough background package and strong staff work.
The board also observed that long-term fiscal pressures make continued monitoring important; departing board member Doctor McAloon urged future discussion of licensee counts and the fiscal sustainability of an independent board.
Ending: Staff will return with revised administrative-manual language for the board to vote on at its June meeting, will consult DCA on social-media options and will publicize volunteer opportunities and strategic-plan highlights in upcoming communications.
