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October 5, 2020 - The 2020-21 Budget Act includes several new initiatives and policy changes related to labor and employment programs. This post provides a high-level overview of the state’s major labor and employment programs and highlights the major labor issues in the budget package, including provisions related to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
October 5, 2020 - The federal government has several programs to provide financial assistance to small businesses affected by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) public health crisis. The Small Business Finance Center (SBFC) at the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank (IBank) makes loan guarantees to small businesses that cannot otherwise get financing from conventional sources. CDFIs are lenders that provide loans and other financial services to low-income communities that are underserved by traditional banks and credit unions.
September 9, 2020 - The budget assumes that employee compensation is reduced by up to 10 percent in 2020-21. This analysis provides a historical record of all the labor agreements between the state and its employees to reduce state costs in 2020-21 and—in most cases—2021-22. In addition, this analysis looks forward and provides comments and recommendations to help the Legislature think through future decisions to reduce employee compensation should the budget problem persist beyond 2021-22.
August 24, 2020 - Presented to: Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 4 on State Administration Hon. Jim Cooper, Chair
August 15, 2020 - Presented to: Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee Hon. Senator Holly Mitchell, chair
July 30, 2020 - Presented to: Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 4 on State Administration Hon. Jim Cooper, Chair
June 25, 2020 - We reviewed the proposed labor agreements between the state and Bargaining Units 1, 3, 4, 6, 9, 11, 14, 15, 17, 20, and 21. These agreements establish Personal Leave Program 2020 and other provisions to reduce employee compensation costs assumed in the 2020-21 budget. This review is pursuant to Section 19829.5 of the Government Code.
May 21, 2020 - Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 4 on State Administration
May 6, 2020 - In this post, we discuss actions the judicial branch has taken to temporarily change operations due to the emergence of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
April 28, 2020 - This post summarizes recent federal legislative and other actions to allocate funding to California and other states in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Figures in this post summarize—as comprehensively as was feasible—the amount of funding that we expect to flow to governments and other public entities in California from the federal government. We also describe the major COVID-19-related federal funding that we expect to flow directly to private Californian entities, such as individuals and businesses.
April 28, 2020 - This post describes the major higher education provisions of the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. It also highlights some key issues for the Legislature to consider relating to its upcoming budget and oversight decisions.
April 9, 2020 - The COVID-19 outbreak has pushed state unemployment to record highs. Alongside recent federal actions, the state may want to explore options to expand assistance to unemployed workers. Expanding assistance to unemployed workers could mitigate financial hardship for unemployed workers and, in some cases, provide statewide economic stimulus. In this post, we describe four options to expand unemployment benefits: (1) change state formulas to increase underlying benefit levels, (2) add state dollars on top of the federal $600 weekly add-on, (3) build a state-funded UI program for workers who currently are not eligible for benefits, and (4) temporarily allow ineligible workers to access State Disability Insurance benefits.
April 8, 2020 - In this post, we discuss the assistance the federal government is providing California to support its COVID-19 response efforts through the National Guard.
April 3, 2020 - This post in our COVID-19 series on federal actions affecting California summarizes federal financial assistance provided to businesses.
April 3, 2020 - This post summarizes the broad-based cash assistance provided under the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. We briefly describe the historical and policy context for this assistance and discuss its likely impact on Californians.