Other Government Areas Publications

Post

The 2018-19 Budget: The May Revision—California State Payroll System

• Format:
• HTML

May 14, 2018 - The 2018-19 May Revision proposes multiyear funding related to the California State Payroll System (CSPS). In this post, we describe and comment on the proposal. We also discuss how the rationale for the payroll system has evolved.

Post

The 2018-19 Budget: The May Revision—Funding to Address Homelessness

• Format:
• HTML

May 12, 2018 - The 2018-19 May Revision proposes a package of actions and funding augmentations aimed at alleviating homelessness. In this post, we describe two major elements of the proposal.

Post

The 2018-19 Budget: Review of Fair Political Practices Commission Budget and Workload

• Format:
• HTML

May 7, 2018 -

At the April 5, 2018 hearing of the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee Number 4, the committee directed our office to review the Fair Political Practices Commission’s budget and workload. This online analysis is the product of our review.

Updated 5/10/18:

1. Changes to LAO Assessment to reflect new information regarding FPPC Advice Letter processing time.
2. Addition of paragraphs (e) and (f) to proposed budget bill language.

Post

The 2018-19 Budget: Meeting Workforce Demand for Certified Nursing Assistants in Skilled Nursing Facilities

• Format:
• HTML

April 27, 2018 - In this post, we provide background on new staffing requirements for certified nursing assistants working in skilled nursing facilities, describe the Governor’s proposals to address these new staffing requirements, assess those proposals, and make associated recommendations.

Hearing Handout

Overview of Proposition 2 in 2018‑19 Budget

• Format:
• PDF

March 15, 2018 - Presented to: Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 4 On State Administration and General Government

Post

The 2018-19 Budget: The Governor’s Office of Emergency Services

• Format:
• HTML

March 13, 2018 - In this analysis, we assess two proposals for OES included in the Governor’s 2018‑19 budget: (1) the California Earthquake Early Warning (CEEW) system and (2) the California Disaster Assistance Act.

Post

The 2018-19 Budget: Statewide Prison to Employment Initiative

• Format:
• HTML

March 12, 2018 - This post addresses the Governor’s 2018‑19 budget proposal to provide $36 million General Fund over two years for local workforce development boards to fund employment training opportunities for at least 1,000 ex‑offenders and to integrate local employment training with programs offered by parole and probation departments. In the post, we (1) provide background on workforce development and employment programs for ex‑offenders, (2) describe and assess the Governor’s initiative, and (3) make recommendations regarding the proposal and raise outstanding issues for the Legislature’s consideration.

Post

The 2018-19 Budget: Census Outreach

• Format:
• HTML

March 8, 2018 - The decennial census enumerates each person in the United States. The results of the census apportion seats in the House of Representatives, guide legislative redistricting, and form the basis for allocating half-a-trillion dollars in federal assistance annually. The Census Bureau is making a number of significant changes to the 2020 Census. The Governor proposes providing $40 million for outreach to encourage Californians to complete the census. Given the major changes to the upcoming census—and the potential impacts to state funding—preparing for a significant outreach campaign can be in the state’s fiscal interest.

Hearing Handout

An Overview of the California Community Colleges Strong Workforce Program

• Format:
• PDF

March 8, 2018 - Presented to Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 1 on Education.

Hearing Handout

Voter Requirements for Local Taxes

• Format:
• PDF

March 7, 2018 - Presented to: Assembly Local Government Committee Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committee Senate Governance and Finance Committee

Post

Proposed Changes to Veterans Home in Yountville

• Format:
• HTML

March 6, 2018 - The Governor’s 2018-19 budget proposes $15.7 million General Fund for the California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet) to conduct a preliminary study to construct a new skilled nursing and memory care facility at the Veterans Home of California in Yountville. In addition, the Governor’s budget proposes to convert double occupancy rooms to single occupancy rooms in the domiciliary care unit at the Yountville veterans home. In this analysis, we (1) provide a brief background on the veterans home system, (2) describe the Governor’s proposal, and (3) provide our recommendations.

Post

The 2018-19 Budget: Evaluating FI$Cal

• Format:
• HTML

March 2, 2018 - In this analysis, we describe the Financial Information System for California (FI$Cal) Project and the major changes to the project based on the newly released Special Project Report (SPR). We also describe the Governor’s 2018-19 budget proposal to fund activities associated with the new SPR at the State Controller’s Office. Finally, we make associated findings and recommendations.

Post

The 2018-19 Budget: Department of General Services

• Format:
• HTML

February 20, 2018 - This analysis includes reviews of the following 2018‑19 budget proposals for DGS: (1) the construction of three state office buildings in the Sacramento area—Richards Boulevard, Bateson, and Unruh projects; and (2) Zero-Emission Vehicles.

Post

The 2018-19 Budget: Administration of the 2017 Housing Package

• Format:
• HTML

February 8, 2018 - This post reviews the Governor’s proposal to provide resources to the California Department of Housing and Community Development to administer the 2017 legislative housing package. Overall, we find the request to be reasonable. We suggest the Legislature consider a few opportunities to give the administration additional direction on how the housing package should be implemented.

Post

The 2018-19 Budget: Department of Consumer Affairs

• Format:
• HTML

February 6, 2018 - The Governor’s budget proposes to reduce 11 positions and $1.3 million annually (Real Estate Fund) for the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) beginning in 2018‑19 to reflect the transfer of the Bureau of Real Estate (CalBRE) out of DCA. We recommend the Legislature require that DCA report at spring budget hearings on the reasons for the difference between the charges that have been paid by CalBRE for DCA services ($5.7 million in 2017‑18) and the much smaller proposed reduction to DCA’s budget. We further recommend that the Legislature require DCA to begin tracking and reporting information on the use of DCA services by boards and bureaus to better assess whether there are widespread differences between the charges paid by entities and the services they are receiving.