THE 180 HOWARD STREET STATE BAR SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA 94105-1639 OF CALIFORNIA TELEPHONE (415) 538-2000 Title of Report: 2017 Proposed Final Budget Statutory Citation: Business and Professions Code section 6140.1 Date of Report: February 15, 2017 The State Bar of California has submitted a report to the Legislature in accordance with Business and Professions Code section 6140.1. Business and Professions Code section 6140.1 requires the State Bar of California to submit a proposed baseline budget for the following year to the Legislature by November 15 and later a proposed final budget by February 15 so that the budget may be reviewed in conjunction with any bill that authorizes the State Bar’s imposition of membership fees on its members. In prior years the State Bar has presented three year budgets which are updated annually. In the current climate, there is significant uncertainty regarding the Bar’s budget outlook stemming from the absence of the 2017 fee bill. As a result, the Board of Trustees was asked to consider and approve a one-year budget only at its January meeting. This budget submission reflects the approved one-year budget for 2017. This 2017 Proposed Final Budget includes the State Bar’s budget overview, revenues and expenditures by fund, department and cost center. Expenditures on wages and salaries by department, indirect cost summary and a consolidated fund condition with projected reserve level are also included. Comparing the 2017 Proposed Final Budget to the proposed 2017 budget filed in November 2016, this Proposed Final Budget reflects the following factors, assumptions and principles: o The special regulatory assessment authorized by the California Supreme Court in lieu of a fee bill, setting the attorney licensing fee of $297, resulting in a 5.7% reduction in 2017 Unconsolidated General Fund Revenue. o A minimum investment of $1.67 million to bemade in the Office of the Chief Trial Counsel pursuant to the Supreme Court’s authorization order, with additional funding identified to support workforce planning and backlog reduction efforts. o Funding identified to support most programs not funded by the Court’s authorized assessment. o Reductions to travel, catering, professional services and temporary help initiated in 2016 will continue. o Eligible employees will receive step increases in 2017. o The new Discipline System CMS will be procured and the project will begin. This summary is provided under Government Code section 9795. The 2017 proposed baseline budget can be accessed at: http://www.calbar.ca.gov/AboutUs/Reports.aspx. A printed copy of the report may be obtained by calling 415-538-2157. 2017 State Bar Budget the State Bar OF CaliFOrnia FeBruary 14, 2017 TABLE OF CONTENTS COVER LETTER State Bar of California 2017 Budget Overview 2017 Budget ............................................................................................................... APPENDIX A Update on Workforce Planning Implementation ....................................................... APPENDIX B State Bar Organizational Chart .................................................................................. APPENDIX C The State Bar’s Budget Policy and Procedures Manual ............................................ APPENDIX D THE STATE BAR OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF CALIFORNIA Elizabeth R. Parker, Executive Director 180 HOWARD STREET, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94105-1639 Tel: (415) 538-2275 Fax: (415) 538-2305 E-mail: [email protected] February 15, 2017 Honorable Diane F. Boyer-Vine Honorable Daniel Alvarez Legislative Counsel Secretary of the Senate State Capitol, Room 3021 State Capitol, Room 3044 Sacramento, CA 95814 Sacramento, CA 95814 Honorable Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye Honorable Jerry Brown Chief Justice of California Governor of California Supreme Court of California State Capitol, Suite 1173 455 Golden Gate Avenue Sacramento, CA 95814 San Francisco, CA 94102-3660 Honorable Kevin de León Honorable Anthony Rendon Senate President Pro Tempore Speaker of the Assembly State Capitol, Room 205 State Capitol, Room 219 Sacramento, CA 95814 Sacramento, CA 95814 Honorable Hannah-Beth Jackson Honorable Mark Stone Chair, Senate Committee on Judiciary Chair, Assembly Committee on Judiciary State Capitol Room 2032 State Capitol, Room 3146 Sacramento, CA 95814 Sacramento, CA 95814 Dear Legislative Counsel Diane F. Boyer-Vine, Secretary of the Senate Daniel Alvarez, Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye, Governor Brown, President pro Tem DeLeon, Speaker Rendon, Senator Jackson, and Assemblymember Stone: I am pleased to provide you with the State Bar of California’s 2017 Budget. Since its statutory creation in 1927, the Bar’s mission has been to protect the public through the effective administration of its regulatory and discipline functions and promoting greater access to justice in California. To pursue this mission in 2017, the approved $165 million budget reflects a 13 percent increase from the Bar’s 2016 budget and is reliant on the use of $19 million in spending from the Bar’s reserves. This budget increase, produced in large part by planned capital expenditures, increased grant distribution, and staffing augmentations at the Office of the Chief Trial Counsel (OCTC), will enable the Bar to meet its operational objectives despite fiscal challenges that have significantly impacted 2017 revenue projections. State Bar of California Final Budget February 15, 2017 Page 2 In addition to the immediate fiscal pressures outlined below, an important context for the 2017 budget submission is the impending transition of the State Bar Sections to a stand-alone, independent entity. While the fiscal impact of this transition is not reflected in the 2017 budget, it will necessarily be a focal point of the Bar’s 2018 budget development process; we anticipate utilizing the same combination of discipline and careful scrutiny employed in the preparation of the 2017 budget to address these challenges in the new year. The past year brought a series of budgetary setbacks that the Bar has worked diligently to address with integrity and transparency. After the California State Legislature failed to pass a fee bill authorizing 2017 licensing fees, the Bar submitted a request for a special regulatory assessment to the California Supreme Court (Court) on September 30, 2016. The Bar’s 2017 proposed budget, submitted in November 2016, reflected the uncertainty of the time; given the pending assessment request, the Bar’s November submission reflected a status quo rollover of 2016 adopted budget figures, with the expectation that the numbers would be significantly revised once the Court issued its order regarding the 2017 attorney licensing assessment. The Court ultimately approved a 2017 licensing fee of $297, an $18 per attorney decrease from the 2016 authorized fee of $315. The decreased revenue—creating a revenue shortfall of $4.8 million—left the Access Commission, Center on Access to Justice, and Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation unfunded while significantly limiting funding for the Office of Communications and the California Young Lawyers Association. The Court’s order also required that $9 of the $297 authorized be used to support workforce planning implementation efforts in the OCTC, effectively redirecting $1.67 million of funding that otherwise might be generally available to increased funding specifically for that Office. These setbacks are important context for the 2017 budget. So too are the Bar’s 2016 accomplishments, which help mitigate these challenges. The Bar made sweeping cost reductions to travel, catering, temporary help, and professional services spending in its 2016 adopted budget; actual expenditures in these areas reflected $2 million in additional savings beyond those budgeted. In addition, the Bar reduced capital improvement spending and left personnel vacancies unfilled in 2016, resulting in an overall budget surplus of $8.5 million in the Bar’s Consolidated General Fund, which supports its core discipline functions. This surplus increased the Bar’s reserves; these reserves in turn are being used to address current year budget challenges. The Bar also met many non-budgetary goals during 2016: full implementation of all 17 of the State Auditor’s 2015 recommendations regarding accountability and efficiency, a comprehensive review of policy and regulatory mandates impacting the Bar, and development of a three-year technology plan represent just a few of the year’s accomplishments. State Bar of California Final Budget February 15, 2017 Page 3 Over the next year, the Bar is committed to building on its 2016 successes and to identifying creative means to ensure core programs impacted by the reduced attorney licensing fee remain intact, while increasing resources available to support key discipline system reform efforts. To address its budget shortfall, the Bar’s 2017 budget reflects an expansion of the professional service cost reductions first implemented during the 2016 budget process, reduced staffing for its Office of Communications and the Elimination of Bias and Legislative Activities Programs, and a discontinuation the Bar Relations Program. The Bar also plans to proceed with key initiatives essential to its mission in 2017: most significantly, the Bar will invest $3.4 million in OCTC to expand discipline-related initiatives, more than double the amount directed by the 2017 Court assessment level. Bar leadership believe this funding augmentation is imperative to ensure the success of OCTC’s workforce planning