Senators press CDFA on proposed cuts to vacant positions and potential impacts on audits and rapid response

The subcommittee examined a proposal that would eliminate a set of vacant positions across state departments, including about 69 positions flagged at the Department of Food and Agriculture under a 2024 administration proposal to reduce unallocated expenditures.

Arma Cozena (CDFA) told the committee many of the positions identified were unfunded, hard to fill, or long‑vacant and that the department would reclassify positions where statutory mandates or available funding require staffing. “For those programs where we do have a mandate and there is funding for that program, we do have the authority to reclassify positions to ensure that we fulfill that mandate,” Cozena said.

Senators pressed CDFA and the Department of Finance for details about the elimination criteria, vacancy duration and program impacts. Nate Williams of the Department of Finance said departments were relied upon to identify candidate positions and that the exercise was a snapshot of vacancy rates taken in 2024. The Legislative Analyst’s Office and JLBC previously flagged several positions for non‑concurrence where program impact could be negative.

Members repeatedly raised specific operational concerns: Supervising auditor roles in milk marketing, investigator positions in quota administration, and rural field station scientific posts were cited as examples where elimination could reduce oversight for markets already under stress. CDFA committed to follow up with program‑level staffing numbers and whether particular functions (for example, the grape crush report and milk quota administration) remain covered.

Stakeholders including dairy and agricultural associations warned that vacant‑position eliminations could weaken rapid response systems for animal disease and hamper inspections and pest prevention in rural regions. The subcommittee held the item open and asked CDFA to return with details about which positions were affected, how long they’d been vacant, and programmatic risk assessments.