Environment and Natural Resources Publications

To browse all LAO publications, visit our Publications page.

 



Letter

Debt-Service Costs and Water Bonds

October 30, 2009 - Sent to: Members, Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee and Assembly Water, Parks, and Wildlife Committee

Handout

Financing Water Infrastructure

August 26, 2009 - Presented to Senate Select Committee on Delta Stewardship and Sustainability

Handout

Energy Agency Reorganization

June 16, 2009 - Presented to Senate Committee on Energy, Utilities, and Communications

Handout

May Revision Overview: Resources

June 2, 2009 - Presented to the Budget Conference Committee

Handout

Department of Forestry and Fire Protection: Funding Wildland Fire Protection

April 2, 2009 - Presented to Senate Budget Subcommittee No. 2 on Resources

Report

Reforming Davis-Dolwig: Funding Recreation in the State Water Project

March 19, 2009 - The Davis-Dolwig Act is a 47-year-old state law that specifies that the state, not water ratepayers, should fund the recreation component of the the State Water Project (SWP). The budget proposes a number of statutory reforms to the act, in part to provide a dedicated funding source for its implementation. We find that the Governor’s proposal does not address a number of major problems with the implementation of the act and that the administration’s approach improperly limits the Legislature’s oversight role. We also find that, over many years, the Department of Water Resources has been allocating costs to the state under Davis-Dolwig that are significantly in excess of the direct costs to SWP for recreation. In our report, we offer the Legislature a package of statutory reforms to address problems that we have identified with the implementation of Davis-Dolwig. These include clarifying the role of public funding for recreation in SWP. We also recommend that the state evaluate the potential to divest itself of SWP reservoirs that are used mainly for recreation.

Handout

California's Cash and Debt Situation: Its Effect on Resources Projects

March 17, 2009 - Presented to Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 3 on Resources

Handout

Federal Economic Stimulus Funding Overview

March 17, 2009 - Presented to Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee and Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee

Handout

Water Rights:Issues and Perspectives

March 10, 2009 - Presented to Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee.

Handout

LAO's Critique of the AB 32 Scoping Plan Economic Analysis

March 9, 2009 - Presented to Assembly Natural Resources Committee

Handout

The Delta Vision and Bay Delta Conservation Plan:Financing Issues

February 24, 2009 - Presented to Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee

Report

2009-10 Budget Analysis Series: Resources and Environmental Protection

February 3, 2009 - The Governor’s budget proposes only one significant budget-balancing solution in the resources and environmental protection areas—$350 million of loans from various special funds to the General Fund. We offer a number of recommendations for achieving General Fund savings beyond the Governor's proposal, including shifting funding for various programs from the General Fund to new or increased fees. Fees are an appropriate funding source in these cases, in our view, because the state is either providing a service directly to beneficiaries or administering a pollution control program that should be funded on a “polluter pays” basis. Our fee proposals relate to: (1) wildland fire protection, (2) fish and game regulation, (3) water quality regulation, and (4) scientific activities of the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment that support regulatory programs. We also recommend program reductions and/or expenditure deferrals in CalFire and the CALFED Bay-Delta Program to create additional General Fund savings. In addition, we assess the administration’s approach in evaluating alternatives to the way water is currently conveyed through the Delta as a key component of solving Delta water problems. We find that the analysis being conducted by the administration is too narrow to fully inform the Legislature of the costs, benefits, risks, and trade-offs of the various conveyance alternatives.

Letter

Summary of ARB Responses to LAO's Questions on the AB 32 Scoping Plan

December 16, 2008 - On November 17, 2008, we reported on the draft scoping plan of the Air Resources Board (ARB) for implementation of the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. After reviewing both (1) the response of the ARB (dated November 26, 2008) to the questions we asked about the proposed scoping plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on October 3 of this year and (2) ARB’s response to the peer review of the scoping plan, our office continues to conclude that ARB's economic analysis of the AB 32 scoping plan lacks a sensitivity analysis and fails to lay out an investment pathway for the scoping plan.

Handout

LAO Budget Options: Resources Agency and Cal-EPA Departments

December 11, 2008 - Presented to Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 2 On Resources, Environmental Protection and Energy

Report

LAO Recommended Legislation

December 1, 2008 - The role of the Legislative Analyst's Office is to review state programs and make recommendations to the Legislature as to how the state can operate more effectively and efficiently. This report summarizes various changes to law that we have recommended in recent years. Recommendations in this report include, among many others: (a) Simplify and Consolidate K-12 General Purpose Funding, (b) Promote the Adoption of Health Information Technology in California, (c) Fund Inmate Education Programs Based on Actual Attendance, and (d) Increase and Index the State Gas Tax.

Environment and Natural Resources Staff
Helen Kerstein
(916) 319-8364
Forestry, Parks, and High Speed Rail
 
Sonja Petek
(916) 319-8340
Water, Coastal Development, and Fish and Wildlife
 
Frank Jimenez
(916) 319-8324
Highways and Roads, Recycling, Agriculture, and Toxics
 
Sarah Cornett
(916) 319-8329
Air Quality, Energy, and Climate Change
 
Rachel Ehlers
(916) 319-8330
Deputy Legislative Analyst: Environment and Transportation