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September 28, 2010 - Presented to Joint Hearing of Senate Committee on Elections, Reapportionment, and Constitutional Amendments and Assembly Committee on Elections and Redistricting
July 15, 2010 - In our required fiscal analysis of six proposed collective bargaining agreements, we find that the memoranda of understanding (MOUs), if adopted, would produce state savings in 2010-11, little net budgetary impact in 2011-12, and some increasing state costs for one or more years thereafter. Over the long term (many decades), the MOUs' proposed changes in retirement benefits could produce significant state savings, but no actuarial analysis of these changes has yet been submitted by the administration. The Legislature will face a major decision whether and how to approve the proposed continuous appropriations for economic terms of the six bargaining agreements.
June 23, 2010 - Presented to The Conference Committee on the Budget
May 3, 2010 - Presented to: Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 5 On State Administration Hon. Denise Moreno Ducheny, Chair
April 27, 2010 -
Recent legislation authorized the Department of General Services (DGS) to sell and then lease back 11 state-owned office properties. The sale-leaseback is designed to free up the state’s equity in the buildings to provide one-time revenue for addressing the state’s current budgetary shortfall. We estimate that the sale of buildings would result in one-time revenue to the state of between $600 million and $1.4 billion, but that annual leasing costs would eventually exceed ownership costs by approximately $200 million.
Over the lives of these buildings, we estimate the transaction would cost the state between $600 million and $1.5 billion. The Legislature will need to weigh how these costs compare to other alternatives for addressing the state’s budget shortfall. In our view, taking on long-term obligations—like the lease payments on these buildings—in exchange for one-time revenue to pay for current services is bad budgeting practice as it simply shifts costs to future years. Therefore, we encourage the Legislature to strongly consider other budget alternatives.
(Short video introducing this report)
February 19, 2010 - A presentation on California's budget, economic outlook, and education funding. Presented at the California County Superintendents Educational Services Association Chief Business Officials Conference in Sacramento on February 19, 2010.
February 9, 2010 - Presented to: Senate Governmental Organization Committee Hon. Roderick Wright, Chair
February 3, 2010 - Presented to: Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee Hon. Denise Moreno Ducheny, Chair
February 3, 2010 - Presented to: Assembly Committee on Insurance Hon. Jose Solorio, Chair
January 27, 2010 - This report discusses some key issues facing the Legislature in the employee compensation area of the budget. In 2009–10, the state has achieved significant savings due to the Governor’s furlough program, which is being challenged in many court cases. For 2010–11, the Governor proposes various measures to reduce state personnel costs, including shifting pension contribution costs from the state to employees, unallocated reductions in personnel budgets of departments, and an across–the–board salary reduction for employees. These proposals would result in $2.5 billion in savings ($1.4 billion General Fund). We believe that employee compensation reductions are necessary due to the magnitude of the budget problem. Nevertheless, some of the administration’s proposals would face legal challenges or otherwise may be difficult to implement. Consequently, we recommend that the Legislature focus efforts to reduce compensation costs on pay reduction options. Special session.
December 14, 2009 - Presented to the Assembly Budget Committee on December 14, 2009
November 12, 2009 - Presented to the Council of State Governments, La Quinta, California
October 16, 2009 - Recent decisions by the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB) concluded that the current system used to measure permanent disability (PD) in workers' compensation claims can be challenged. This analysis discusses how the WCAB’s decisions could lead to (1) changes in PD ratings, (2) increased incentive for litigation, and (3) decreased uniformity in determining PD. Ultimately, the likely result would be increased benefits for workers and higher costs for businesses and governments.
September 23, 2009 - Presented to Assembly Committee on Accountability and Administrative Review
September 2, 2009 - On August 27, 2009, the administration presented to the Legislature a proposed addendum to the existing state employee labor agreement with Bargaining Unit 5 (California Highway Patrol [CHP] Officers). The proposal would amend the Public Employees’ Medical and Hospital Care Act and increase state budgetary costs in some future years. This letter provides our office’s analysis of the proposal, similar to the analysis we routinely provide the JLBC with proposed labor agreements.