Professional Fiduciary Bureau projects stronger reserves after fee revenue; licensing and complaint data updated

Department of Consumer Affairs budget staff told the Professional Fiduciary Bureau Advisory Committee that the bureau’s fund condition is expected to improve in 2024–25, with projected revenues and a fund balance that the bureau said would equal about seven months in reserve.

Brennan Vu, a budget analyst with the DCA budget office, told the committee that the bureau began with a base budget of a little more than $1.1 million and is projected to spend about $689,000, creating a reversion of roughly $427,000 and a reversion percentage of 38.23 percent. Vu said the bureau projects 2024–25 revenues of just over $1.1 million and, based on the governor’s 2025–26 budget and fiscal-month-six projections, expects authorized expenditures and direct draws of about $758,000 for the year, leaving a closing fund balance of just over $711,000, or roughly seven months of reserve.

Why it matters: the bureau’s funding comes largely from licensing and renewal fees; the projected reserve affects the bureau’s ability to absorb future personnel- and retirement-related cost increases and any unanticipated workload or legislative changes.

Vu said the revenue projections include about $135,000 from initial license fees, $979,000 from license renewals and $36,000 from citations, fines and other receipts. He said the budget office uses actuals through fiscal month six and includes a conservative ongoing 3 percent increase to expenditures to account for salary and retirement adjustments. “The budget office will continue to monitor the bureau’s revenue and expenditures and report back to the bureau with monthly expenditure projections,” Vu said.

Bureau staff also presented licensing and enforcement statistics. The bureau reported 8,849 active licenses as of Dec. 31, 2024, 12 inactive and 26 retired. Total licenses issued since February were 1,485. For fiscal year 2024–25 to date, the bureau reported 59 initial applications received and 50 initial licenses issued. Processing times included 23 days from receipt to approval to sit for an exam for the first quarter and 24 days in the second quarter, with six to eight days from passing the exam to issuance of a license.

On enforcement, staff said 52 complaints have been closed, with 133 complaints pending across multiple fiscal years; the bureau reported issuing four citations and having one case referred to the attorney general’s office.

The bureau described its wildfire-relief outreach following Gov. Gavin Newsom’s executive order N-15-25 issued Jan. 29, 2025. Bureau staff said they contacted licensees with addresses in affected ZIP codes, discussed renewal-fee deferral options and posted wildfire relief and deferral information on the bureau website. The Professional Fiduciary Association (PFAC) offered the bureau a complimentary exhibit table at its May conference at Disneyland; the bureau said it will not attend in person but will supply more than 200 informational flyers. The bureau also announced a winter 2025 e-newsletter and encouraged stakeholders to sign up for email notifications.

Committee members asked about outreach to expand the profession and raise awareness of licensing pathways; staff said their primary outreach channels are the bureau’s website, Twitter and Facebook and that they would welcome suggestions. Committee member Linda Ng was noted as a featured advisory committee member in the newsletter.

The bureau said it will continue to update the committee monthly on expenditure projections and will provide corrected meeting materials where non substantive date errors were noted.