Featured Items
Staff
- Helen Kerstein
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(916) 319-8364
Air Quality, Energy, Climate Change, and High-Speed Rail - Brian Metzker
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(916) 319-8354
Forestry, Parks, and Agriculture - Sonja Petek
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(916) 319-8340
Water, Coastal Development, and Fish and Wildlife - Frank Jimenez
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(916) 319-8324
Highways and Roads, Recycling, and Toxics - Rachel Ehlers
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(916) 319-8330
Deputy Legislative Analyst: Environment and Transportation
Publications
Environment and Natural Resources
To browse all LAO publications, visit our Publications page.
Oversight of Electricity Contract Settlement Funds
February 19, 2003 - The state has received cash and assets from settlements resulting from the renegotiation of energy contracts entered into by the state during the "energy crisis." Future settlements are also likely. We recommend that the Legislature hold hearings to consider uses for the settlement funds.
Timber Harvest Fees
February 19, 2003 - $170 million savings if property owners who benefit from state fire protection services pay $6 per acre in order to offset one-half of the state's proposed General Fund costs to provide fire protection services largely to private landowners.
Resource Assessments: Improving Effectiveness and Creating Savings
February 19, 2003 - A number of departments engage in resource assessment activities intended to determine the condition of natural resources in the state. We review several such activities and identify opportunities for funding shifts and program reductions, some of which will create savings. We also discuss opportunities to increase the value of the information collected.
Proposition 50 Water-Related Proposals Need Better Definition
February 19, 2003 - Various budget proposals to expend Proposition 50 bond funds for water-related activities lack sufficient detail to justify approval. We recommend that the funding instead be put in legislation that defines the programs and guides their implementation.
Fund Conditions For Resources Programs
February 19, 2003 - The state uses a variety of special and bond funds to support the departments, conservancies, boards, and programs under the Resources Agency that regulate and manage the state's natural resources. We provide a status report on selected special funds and bond funds supporting these programs.
Environmental Protection Indicators
February 19, 2003 - Environmental Protection Indicators for California (EPIC) track changes that are taking place in the environment. We recommend the enactment of legislation to guide EPIC and to ensure that data generated by it is sufficiently linked to the budget development process.
CALFED Bay-Delta Program: 2003-04 Budget Proposal Issues for Legislative Consideration
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January 28, 2003 - Handout presented to Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee and Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 3
Enhancing Implementation and Oversight: Proposition 40 Resources Bond
May 7, 2002 - Proposition 40 provided a $2.6 billion bond for natural resource conservation, parks, and historical and cultural resources. We recommend several actions to improve legislative oversight of these expenditures. We also recommend inclusion of future costs for state parks in the budget process.
Better Protection of Fish and Wildlife: Improving Fish and Game's CEQA Review
April 29, 2002 - We find that the effectiveness of California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review by the Department of Fish and Game is limited by its lack of a formal process for prioritizing projects for review and determining their level of review. We recommend improvements to, and funding for, the review process.
Water Special Districts: A Look at Governance and Public Participation
March 15, 2002 - Chapter 107, Statutes of 2001 (AB 38, Strom-Martin), requires the Legislative Analyst’s Office to undertake a study of these special districts. In this review we find that while some individual districts have pursued controversial policies, there is no evidence of a statewide structural governance problem.
Reorganizing California's Energy-Related Activities
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February 20, 2002 - A multiplicity of agencies, and evidence of certain duplicative activities and other problems, suggests that it is time for the state to "stand back" and assess how its various energy-related entities are organized and interacting with one another.
Funding the State Water Resources Control Board's Core Regulatory Program
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February 20, 2002 - The budget proposes to create General Fund savings by shifting some General Fund support for the State Water Resources Control Board's core regulatory program to fees. We discuss the Governor's proposal, make recommendations for fee legislation, and provide an assessment of the board's funding requirements over the longer term.
Addressing the Obligations Resulting From the Department of Parks and Recreation's Land Acquisitions
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February 20, 2002 - Recently, the Department of Parks and Recreation has significantly increased its land acquisitions without addressing associated future development and operating costs. We provide options for funding development and operation, and make recommendations to reduce the likelihood that future acquisitions will result in unfunded obligations.