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March 5, 2015 - Presented to Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee 5 on Corrections, Public Safety and the Judiciary
March 4, 2015 - Presented to Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 5 on Public Safety
February 20, 2015 - The Governor’s budget proposes a total of $15 billion from various fund sources for judicial and criminal justice programs in 2015-16. This is an increase of $306 million, or about 2 percent, above estimated expenditures for the current year. In the report we provide an analysis of the Governor's budget proposals for state criminal justice departments and programs, including for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the judicial branch, various local public safety programs, and the Department of Justice. The report reviews the most significant proposals in these areas and offers corresponding recommendations for the Legislature's consideration.
February 17, 2015 - On November 4, 2014, voters approved Proposition 47 which makes significant changes to the state’s criminal justice system. Specifically, it reduces the penalties for certain non-violent, nonserious drug and property crimes and requires that the resulting state savings be spent on (1) mental health and substance use treatment services, (2) truancy and dropout prevention, and (3) victim services. In this report, we describe the impact of Proposition 47 on state corrections, state courts, and the county criminal justice system, as well as the Governor’s budget proposals related to the proposition. We also provide recommendations for ensuring that the resulting state savings are spent in an effective manner.
February 9, 2015 - This report examines the budget of the Department of State Hospitals (DSH), which provides inpatient mental health services to patients in DSH’s eight facilities. It provides an overview of the various components of the department’s budget, and details how the department develops its annual budget requests. The report finds several shortcomings with the current budgeting process. To address these, the report provides recommendations for the Legislature to consider.
January 16, 2015 - An additional resource to our November 2014 report Restructuring the Court-Ordered Debt Collection Process.
November 10, 2014 - As an additional resource, this handout gives a high level overview of the report.
July 18, 2014 - In recent years, various concerns have been raised regarding the state’s “default prove-up process”—a trial court process related to certain civil cases involving the collection of debt. In view of the concerns raised by stakeholders, the Legislature passed Chapter 193, Statutes of 2011 (AB 110, Blumenfield), requiring both Judicial Council (the policymaking and governing body of the judicial branch) and our office to review the state’s default prove-up process. This report responds to the requirements specified in Chapter 193.
May 12, 2014 - Public Safety Realignment Funding Allocation
May 7, 2014 - Presented to Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 5 on Public Safety
May 1, 2014 - Presented to: Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 5 On Corrections, Public Safety and the Judiciary
April 10, 2014 - Presented to Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 5 On Corrections, Public Safety and the Judiciary
February 28, 2014 - In this report, we provide an analysis of the Governor's proposals to comply with the federal court order to reduce the state's prison population. Specifically, we review the administration's plans to comply with the population cap by (1) contracting for additional prison bed space, (2) utilizing funding from the Recidivism Reduction Fund to support initiatives intended to reduce the prison population (such as expanding rehabilitative services), and (3) implementing court-ordered population reduction measures. We recommend a variety of modifications to the Governor’s proposals. In particular, we recommend using a portion of the monies in the Recidivism Reduction Fund to evaluate the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's current rehabilitative programs and to expand an existing grant program that incentivizes counties to reduce prison admissions.
February 19, 2014 - In the report we provide an analysis of the Governor's budget proposals for state criminal justice programs, including the judicial branch, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), and various proposals related to local public safety. The report reviews the most significant proposals in these departments and offers corresponding recommendations for the Legislature's consideration. For example, we recommend that the Legislature take several actions to improve the administration’s approach to trial court funding, including the current trial court reserves policy. In addition, we review the administration’s proposals related to correctional relief staffing and overtime and make a series of recommendations to reduce spending on staffing and overtime and make CDCR's staffing process more cost-efficient.
January 30, 2014 - Presented to: Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee