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February 1, 1993 - Property taxes are the largest source of general purpose revenue available to local governments. Cities, counties, special districts, and redevelopment agencies depend upon these revenues to provide a wide variety of programs and services to California residents. In the following pages, we discuss (1) the impact of the proposed property tax shift on local government revenues and programs, (2) the ability of local governments to raise revenues to offset property tax losses, and (3) the impact of the transfer of property taxes on land development proposals.
February 1, 1992 - The state and local program realignment legislation enacted in 1991 represents a fundamental change in the state and county fiscal relationship. In this piece, we (1) provide background on the evolution of the legislation, (2) review its primary components, (3) assess its likely programmatic and fiscal effects, and (4) identify realignment-related implementation and policy issues we believe the Legislature will face in the current legislative session and in later years. Finally, we identify program areas where we believe the Legislature might effectively extend some of the legislation's features to enact further reforms.
February 1, 1992 - In this analysis, we (1) review the short-term implementation issues surrounding Chapter 90 and the related measures, and (2) identify a number of policy issues that the Legislature will need to address as it considers providing additional support for the trial courts for the budget year and beyond.
February 1, 1991 - Over the past several years, many of California's counties have experienced increasing financial stress. While Butte County is perhaps the most visible example of recent county financial troubles, our analysis indicates that the problem is inherent to the existing arrangement of state and county responsibilities and affects all counties to greater or lesser extent. The existing county-state partnership suffers from a variety of structural problems—such as program fragmentation, counter-productive fiscal incentives, and the inappropriate division of responsibilities—that both diminish the effectiveness of these programs and reduce the financial viability of county governments
May 1, 1990 - In 1989 the Legislature enacted legislation (58 726, L. Greene) to continue the state low-income housing tax credit program as long as a related federal program exists. That legislation also requires the Legislative Analyst's Office to evaluate the effectiveness of this program. This policy brief provides the evaluation, and makes recommendations for changes to improve the program's effectiveness.
March 1, 1990 - In January 1990, the Governor announced a $2 billion home loan initiative to increase home ownership opportunities for first-time homebuyers. In March, two legislative measures were introduced to establish part of the program. In the following analysis we describe the Governor’s proposal, identify the likely beneficiaries, discuss its fiscal effects, and identify the policy choices which this proposal presents to the Legislature.
February 21, 1990 - In this piece, we examine county fiscal capacity—the ability of counties to respond to these needs. First, we describe the county-state relationship and discuss our framework for identifying variations in county fiscal capacity. Second, we provide our findings regarding the fiscal capacity of counties, and discuss some of the counties which rate below average in this regard. Third, we identify the primary factors that contribute to low fiscal capacity. Finally, we offer several alternatives that the Legislature may wish to use to improve the fiscal capacity of California's counties.
January 1, 1990 - The purpose of this report is to provide the Legislature with an overview of housing in California, including information that will assist it in making decisions that will affect the future performance of the state's housing market and thus the economy generally.
December 1, 1989 - The purpose of this policy brief is to provide the Legislature with a context for considering proposals to address Butte County's fiscal problems. The analysis is based on a review of Butte County's past financial transactions and its 1989-90 final budget. Our intent is to explain the basic fiscal trends underlying Butte's current condition, not to evaluate management of the county or past policy decisions made by county officials.
February 1, 1989 - Trial Court Funding and County Finances
February 1, 1989 - Accommodating California's Growth
January 1, 1989 - Chapter 1256, Statutes of 1980, requires the Legislative Analyst to report each year on any previously unfunded state mandates for which the Legislature appropriated funds in a claims bill during the prior fiscal year. This report reviews those mandates initially funded by Chapter 1485, Statutes of 1988.
April 1, 1988 - Chapter 1256, Statutes of 1980, requires the Legislative Analyst to report each year on any previously unfunded state mandates for which the Legislature appropriated funds in a claims bill during the prior fiscal year. This report reviews those mandates initially funded by Chapter 1270, Statutes of 1987.
February 1, 1988 - Funding for State-Mandated Local Programs