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February 22, 2005 - On January 6, 2005, the administration released its plans to eliminate 88 boards and commissions and to reorganize the Youth and Adult Correctional Agency (YACA). For each of the plans, we provide an assessment of its fiscal effect and raise key issues. Although the administration recently has decided not to forward its boards and commissions proposal to the Legislature, the piece provides key considerations for the Legislature when seeking to consolidate these types of entities. Regarding the YACA proposal, we conclude it has the potential to improve the efficiency, accountability, and effectiveness of the state's prison system. However, the plan omits important details that the Legislature requires in order to fully evaluate its merits. Our analysis indicates that the proposed reorganization would probably result in net costs in the short term, but has the potential to achieve significant long-term net savings by placing a greater emphasis on inmate rehabilitation as a means of increasing public safety.
December 3, 2004 - Staff and their assignments within the Legislative Analyst's Office as of November 2004. (This document is 5 MB in size.)
August 27, 2004 - On August 3, 2004, the California Performance Review (CPR) released its report on reforming California's state government, with the aim of making it more efficient and more responsive to its citizens. This report provides our initial comments on the CPR report. Specifically, we: (1) provide an overview of its reorganization framework and other individual recommendations, (2) discuss the savings it assumes from its major proposals, and (3) raise key issues and considerations relating to CPR's various proposals.
February 18, 2004 - We recommend that the Legislature require a well-researched problem, a demonstrable net benefit, and built-in evaluations when considering any future proposals for state economic development programs. This would allow the Legislature to be more certain of the effectiveness of proposed programs.
February 18, 2004 - The administration proposes a constitutional amendment to expand the circumstances in which the state can contract with private entities. We provide guidelines the Legislature may want to consider as it evaluates the administration's proposal. We refer to a report published in our 1996 Perspectives and Issues in which we found that carefully managed privatization can, under the right circumstances, provide specialized expertise, save money, and/or result in improved service delivery. Poorly managed privatization, or privatization under the wrong circumstances, however, can lose money and result in poor service delivery.
February 18, 2004 - The California Department of Food and Agriculture's management of 500 permanent positions needs significant revision. We recommend that the Legislature adopt trailer bill language to specify that the department's continuous appropriations do not exempt it from the normal position approval process. We also recommend that the department establish permanent positions with the State Controller's Office and submit budget requests through the Department of Finance and the Legislature for all of its future staffing needs. Finally, we recommend budget bill language requiring the department to report on these permanent blanket positions by December 2004.
February 19, 2003 - Recently, the Legislature has taken various steps, through budget control sections, to reduce the number of vacant positions in state government. We found that the Department of Finance (DOF) has provided most of the information requested. We recommend that DOF provide updated information.
November 6, 2002 - The Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) is taking a number of steps to help control the sharply rising cost of the state health insurance program for employees and retirees. We recommend that the legislature provide ongoing oversight of this program and highlight two Legislative options for limiting costs: developing lower-cost HMO options and changing the way state contributions are determined.
November 1, 2002 - Staff and their assignments within the Legislative Analyst's Office as of November 2002.
February 20, 2002 - We recommend the Legislature delete $50 million proposed to reimburse local governments for the POBOR mandate in the budget year. We recommend the Legislature refer the matter to the Joint Legislative Audit Committee (JLAC) for review and recommendation on possible revisions to the mandate's parameters and guidelines.
December 1, 2001 - This report summarizes a recent report measuring how well the state's universities are meeting their eligibility targets as called for in the state's Master Plan. This is one of a series of issue briefs examining important questions about higher education funding in California. For more information on this topic, or to request other briefs from this series, contact the Legislative Analyst’s Office Higher Education section at (916) 319-8339, or visit our website at www.lao.ca.gov/highered.