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Legislators press administration for detail on vacancy-sweep savings and program impacts
Summary
Assemblymembers pressed the administration and the Legislative Analyst's Office for earlier and more granular information about the governor's proposed vacant-position eliminations and state operations savings, saying they need department-level lists and program-impact analyses before making budget tradeoffs.
The committee discussed the administration27s statewide "vacant positions" control section and operational-efficiency proposals, which the governor27s budget estimated would eliminate a portion of vacancies and reduce state operations costs.
Steven Benson of the Department of Finance summarized the administration27s approach and said the initial point-in-time target in the 2024 budget act was revised after departments reported many of the listed vacancies supported critical public-safety or mission-essential functions. Benson said the administration is working with departments to provide more granular lists and expects to deliver that information to the Legislature in coming months.
The Legislative Analyst's Office told the committee it needs department-by-department backup to assess programmatic impacts. "What are they? Well, we can't know that if we don't know what the actual reductions are," the LAO said, urging that the Legislature be provided the underlying data sooner than May so members can evaluate the program effects and whether new proposals should be approved in light of reductions.
Members challenged the administration to provide line-item classifications and to explain special-fund reductions and the potential effect on fee payers. Several lawmakers described the difficulty of making tradeoffs without knowing which positions and programs would be affected and said they expected the administration to produce more detailed documentation as soon as possible.
Ending: The administration committed to work with departments to produce more-detailed audits of proposed vacant-position eliminations and program impacts, and committee members said they would continue to press for earlier delivery of those materials ahead of budget decisions.
