Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Enforcement Statistics topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Enforcement backlog and investigations rise, board told; AG referrals increase
Summary
Enforcement staff reported rising investigation times and more AG referrals: 45 complaints in Q4, longer average investigation completion times for the fiscal year, 15 disciplinary cases referred to the Attorney General and eight final orders issued for the year.
Enforcement staff told the Podiatric Medical Board of California that complaint intake and investigation timelines increased over the past fiscal year and that the board has more active cases at the Attorney General's Office.
Bethany, the enforcement presenter, said the board received 45 complaints during the quarter April 1–June 30, a 9% decrease from the prior fourth quarter, and that the average days to close or sign a case for that quarter was 14 days, which she noted was "a little higher than average due to a couple of misplaced complaints initiated late in the month of April". She reported 44 desk investigations were assigned and 30 completed in the quarter and that processing time averaged 91 days for desk investigations.
For the full fiscal year, Bethany said total complaint intake rose 5% to 151 complaints and total investigations assigned were 152 (an 8% increase over fiscal year 23–24). She reported the average days to complete investigations (desk and field) rose to 256 days, a 103% increase from the prior fiscal year, and attributed part of the increase to a long-lasting vacancy in the desk-investigation staffing.
Bethany also reported an increase in formal disciplinary referrals to the Attorney General: 15 cases initiated through the AG (a 275% increase) and eight final orders issued for the fiscal year. She said there were "11 plus" active cases pending with the AG as of Sept. 18, 2025.
Staff noted some data and numeric inconsistencies in the written materials (for example the Q4 'average days' phrasing in the posted report) and described corrective steps: retrieving hearing dates for the longest aging cases, coordinating with criminal-case calendars when prosecutions are linked, and scheduling further updates on specific aging cases. Bethany said cost recovery for Q4 totaled $67,343.44 and $257,189.04 for the fiscal year.
Next steps: staff will follow up with hearing scheduling information for the oldest cases, continue work to fill vacancies and accelerate processing, and provide updated case-aging and AG-office status to the board.
