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May 16, 2016 - This document summarizes the major changes to the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act (MMRSA) included in the administration’s May Revision budget trailer legislation. It also raises several issues for the Legislature to consider as it reviews the MMRSA budget trailer legislation.
May 11, 2016 - On April 29, the administration released its initial draft list of $400 million in deferred maintenance projects proposed for funding as part of the Governor’s 2016-17 budget. In this post, we summarize the draft list of projects. Also, given that there are only a few weeks remaining before the constitutionally-required June 15th deadline for the Legislature to adopt a state budget for 2016-17, we suggest that the Legislature may want to prioritize its review of the administration’s draft list. Furthermore, in the future, we recommend that the administration provide the Legislature with (1) information about its long-term plan for addressing the state’s deferred maintenance backlog and (2) more detailed information on proposed projects earlier in the budget process.
April 15, 2016 - Presented to: Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 4 on State Administration and General Government and Senate Committee on Elections and Constitutional Amendments
April 4, 2016 - We reviewed the proposed memorandum of understanding (MOU) for Bargaining Unit 6 (Corrections). Bargaining Unit 6 is represented by the California Correctional Peace Officers' Association (CCPOA). This review is pursuant to Section 19829.5 of the Government Code.
March 30, 2016 - Senate Budget Subcommittee No. 4 on State Administration and General Government
March 25, 2016 - This post addresses the Governor’s 2016-17 budget proposal related to the Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA). The post provides background on PAGA, describes and assesses the Governor’s proposal, and outlines our recommendations for the Legislature’s consideration. Specifically, we recommend that the Legislature approve requested funding and positions and adopt portions of proposed trailer bill language that require additional information on PAGA proceedings be provided to the Labor and Workforce Development Agency. We recommend that the Legislature reject remaining proposed trailer bill language in favor of consideration in a separate policy bill process.
March 18, 2016 - Precision medicine is a developing approach in the health sector that takes into account an individual’s genes, environment, and lifestyle for disease diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. The 2016-17 Governor’s Budget proposes to make a one-time appropriation of $10 million from the state General Fund to OPR to fund precision medicine research. We find that the Governor’s proposal lacks key details and a clear justification. In the absence of this information, we recommend the Legislature reject the Governor’s proposal.
March 1, 2016 - We are uncertain if the administration’s budget proposals will provide the Public Employment Relations Board the resources it needs to address the existing backlog in processing cases. We recommend that the Legislature (1) determine how fast cases should be addressed by the board and then (2) ask PERB and affected groups questions in order to understand what level of funding and staffing is necessary to process cases within the desired amount of time.
March 1, 2016 - In this post, we provide recommendations on the following Governor’s Office of Emergency Services budget proposals for 2016-17: (1) Deferred Maintenance and (2) Emergency Operations and Critical Infrastructure Support.
February 25, 2016 - In this post, we provide recommendations on the following Department of Consumer Affairs budget proposals for 2016-17: (1) Acupuncture Board—Curriculum Review and Licensing and (2) Department of Justice Staffing.
February 22, 2016 - The Department of General Services (DGS) provides a variety of services to state departments, such as procurement, management of state-owned and leased real estate, management of the state’s vehicle fleet, printing, administrative hearings, legal services, development of building standards, and oversight over school construction. The department generally funds its operations through fees charged to client departments. The Governor’s budget proposes $1.1 billion from various funds for support of DGS in 2016-17. This is an increase of $19 million, or about 2 percent, from current-year estimated expenditures. In addition, we note that the Governor’s budget also includes a $1.5 billion state office building proposal. (For more information on this proposal, please see our report The 2016-17 Budget: The Governor’s State Office Building Proposal.)
February 18, 2016 - The 2016-17 Budget: Overview of Governor’s Proposals to Implement the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act
February 9, 2016 - In this follow up to California’s High Housing Costs: Causes and Consequences, we offer additional evidence that facilitating more private housing development in the state’s coastal urban communities would help make housing more affordable for low–income Californians.
February 2, 2016 - This post is the seventh in a series looking at the implementation of the CalSTRS funding plan. In this post, we describe how a recent CalSTRS policy change increases projected district rates under many scenarios.