Board hears workforce and outreach reports; TRA readies materials for Aug. 26 taxpayer bill of rights hearing

During the June 24 meeting the State Board of Equalization received several operational and outreach reports covering workforce capacity, the Taxpayers' Rights Advocate office and legislative activity.

Lisa Renadyat, chief deputy director, told the board that the agency hired one new employee for the legal entity ownership program and that overall vacancy levels are "about 7%," which she described as roughly 93% staffed. Renadyat said the agency's all-staff engagement survey achieved a participation rate of about 70% and that the executive team has identified recurring themes to guide initiatives in communication, career development, recognition and workload balance.

Acting Taxpayers' Rights Advocate Amy Hendrickson said her office completed 39 cases in May, including multiple Prop 19 exclusion matters, and detailed outreach planned for the August 26 taxpayer bill of rights hearing. Hendrickson said letters (LTA notices) and printed posters/flyers were mailed to all 58 county assessors, tax collectors and auditor-controllers; she said the TRA is also creating a new PSA timed for social media and will share it with board members for reposting. The TRA also issued LTA 2026-022 to update disaster-relief guidance following AB 245 and SB 663, extending certain application and rebuild timeframes for qualifying disaster victims.

David Young and Carolyn Steman summarized agency letters to assessors and training activity: the agency has issued 23 LTAs in calendar year 2026 to date and reported 977 students completed BOE-instructed classes in fiscal year 2025-26, with the 2026-27 training schedule now open for enrollment.

Legislative director Ted Angelo briefed the board on the legislative calendar and several bills the board has supported or monitored, noting the policy committee deadline was July 2 and that budget and suspense considerations mean some supported bills face uncertain outcomes.

Board members discussed outreach mechanicshow many printed posters were produced (staff said a couple hundred distributed to county offices), whether legislators received notices (staff said selected legislative staff and committee consultants were included), and plans to encourage public participation by phone or online. The board noted the TRA hearing as an opportunity for direct taxpayer input and asked staff to continue promoting the Aug. 26 session and to circulate the PSA when available.

The reports were received for information; no board votes were taken on these items.