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DCA outlines workforce reductions, vacancy proposals and potential impacts to board services
Summary
Department of Consumer Affairs staff told the board the Department of Finance has proposed workforce reductions tied to budget letters that assume elimination of vacancies and departmental cuts; DCA submitted vacancy‑reduction plans and will report expected program impacts at the next meeting.
Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) staff updated the California Architects Board on two Department of Finance budget letters that frame substantial state workforce and budget reductions.
Yvonne Durantis, assistant deputy director for board and bureau relations, said: "At the end of July, the Department of Finance issued a budget letter 2420 that outlines the assumed reduction of the state's workforce by 10,000 vacancies and $1,500,000,000." She explained that DCA worked with boards and bureaus to prepare position‑by‑position justifications and submitted a proposed vacancy reduction plan for approval.
Durantis also described a second directive (Budget Letter 24.24) calling for approximately a 7.95% budget reduction across departments to achieve roughly $2.1 billion in savings for 2024–25 and beyond; staff are identifying fixed-cost exemptions (for example, the Attorney General's office and the Office of Administrative Hearings) that cannot be reduced. DCA said the final reduction plan and any resulting permanent position eliminations were awaiting Department of Finance approval and that DCA will provide a detailed budget update at the next board meeting.
Board members pressed staff about whether vacancies would be frozen or eliminated and whether the board had vacant positions that could be targeted. DCA said the elimination proposals were a snapshot (a June vacancy list) and that the board can make arguments to retain positions it deems critical; an example given was a LATC licensing analyst position that, if unfilled, could impede licensing operations. Staff acknowledged that losing certain enforcement or licensing positions could impair program delivery, and they expect to include those impacts in the forthcoming written report.
Durantis also highlighted DCA's innovation recognition: a federal license portability and state registration portal developed by Jason Piccione that has supported practitioner mobility and been used as a model by other states.
Next steps: DCA will provide a written, detailed budget and vacancy update at the next meeting and share any Department of Finance decisions as they are received.
