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February 14, 2017 -
In this web post, we provide an overview of the judicial branch and the level of funding proposed in the Governor’s 2017-18 budget. We also assess and make recommendations on two specific judicial branch proposals. The first proposal consists of a $4.1 million augmentation to replace case management systems in nine trial courts. The second proposal consists of a $842,000 augmentation to support various court interpreter-related activities, including a video remote interpreting pilot.
January 31, 2017 - In this web post, we provide an overview of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the level of funding proposed for the department in the Governor’s 2017-18 budget. We also assess and make recommendations on two specific DOJ budget proposals: (1) a one-time $5 million unallocated General Fund reduction and (2) a $45 million funding increase related to Proposition 56 revenues.
January 27, 2017 - The primary goal of California’s criminal justice system is to provide public safety by deterring and preventing crime, punishing individuals who commit crime, and reintegrating criminals back into the community. The state’s major criminal justice programs include the court system, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), and the Department of Justice (DOJ). The Governor’s budget for 2017-18 proposes total expenditures of $16.1 billion for judicial and criminal justice programs. In this post, we describe recent trends in state spending on criminal justice and provide an overview of the major changes in the Governor’s proposed budget for criminal justice programs in 2017-18.
January 25, 2017 - The Governor’s budget for 2017-18 proposes a $280,000 General Fund augmentation to counties for increased trial court security levels resulting from a separate proposal to reallocate four existing vacant trial court judgeships to trial courts with greatest judicial need as of January 1, 2018. We recommend the Legislature reject the Governor’s proposal due to a lack of justification that the proposed funding is needed.
June 8, 2016 - Presented to: Assembly Public Safety Committee and Senate Public Safety Committee
May 27, 2016 - State law tasks the Commission on State Mandates with determining whether new state laws or regulations affecting local governments create state-reimbursable mandates. Typically, the process for determining whether a law or regulation is a state-reimbursable mandate takes several years. State law further requires our office to analyze any new mandates identified by the commission as part of our annual analysis of the proposed state budget. In particular, state law directs our office to report on the annual state costs for new mandates and make recommendations to the Legislature as to whether the new mandates should be repealed, funded, suspended, or modified. In this budget post, we discuss the Sheriff Court-Security Services mandate.
May 24, 2016 - Presented to: Assembly Committee on Business and Professions; Assembly Committee on Health; Assembly Committee on Revenue and Taxation;Senate Committee on Business, Professions and Economic Development
May 24, 2016 - Presented to: Assembly Committee on Business and Professions; Assembly Committee on Health; Assembly Committee on Revenue and Taxation; Senate Committee on Business, Professions and Economic Development
May 17, 2016 - Presented to: Assembly Public Safety Committee and Senate Public Safety Committee
May 17, 2016 - Presented to: Assembly Public Safety Committee and Senate Public Safety Committee
May 16, 2016 - The Governor’s May Revision proposes a $24.5 million General Fund augmentation for various inmate rehabilitation programs. The proposed augmentation would increase to $44.4 million in 2017-18 and decline to $37.1 million in 2018-19. While we recommend approving additional funding for those programs that appear to be effective, we recommend rejecting funding for proposals for which there is not clear evidence of effectiveness and those that lack sufficient detail.
May 3, 2016 - Presented to: Assembly Public Safety Committee and Senate Public Safety Committee
April 21, 2016 - Presented to: Senate Budget Subcommittee No. 4 On State Administration and General Government Senate Budget Subcommittee No. 5 On Corrections, Public Safety, and the Judiciary
March 16, 2016 - Presented to Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 5 on Public Safety
March 10, 2016 - Presented to Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 5 on Corrections, Public Safety, and the Judiciary