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February 23, 2006 - The California Public Utilities Commission administers several programs designed to subsidize telecommunications services in order to ensure universal access to these services. One of these is the California Teleconnect Fund (CTF) program, which provides discounts to schools, libraries, public hospitals and clinics, and community-based organizations (CBOs). While most of the eligible schools and libraries participate in the program, many eligible CBOs and public hospitals and clinics do not. We provide options to increase participation in the program by eligible entities.
February 23, 2006 - The administration proposes to switch the Governor’s Office budget from traditional budgeting to an automatic annual adjustment. The change would cost about $1 million annually. The administration has offered no policy reason why the current process is not working. We therefore recommend that the Legislature reject the proposal to put the Governor’s Office budget on autopilot spending.
February 23, 2006 - The Governor’s budget assumes that proposed authority for the administration to reduce departmental budgets during the year will decrease overall state costs by $258 million. Since 2002-03, enacted budgets have included similar provisions. In reality, however, the full magnitude of these savings is rarely achieved. We recommend that the Legislature delete the proposed authority. The administration should identify any specific proposed savings in departmental budgets during the spring budget process.
February 23, 2006 - The Secretary of State (SOS) has provided few details on the department’s proposed implementation of HAVA. Based on the information received to date, however, we have a number of serious concerns with the agency’s approach. Delays by SOS over the past year in implementing components of the state’s HAVA plan have impaired counties’ ability to acquire and install HAVA-compliant equipment for the upcoming June 2006 primary election. In addition, SOS’s proposal for a statewide voter registration database exposes the General Fund to millions of dollars in costs, despite the state having received over $350 million in HAVA funds. We withhold recommendation on SOS’s HAVA expenditures pending the submittal of detailed justifications.
February 24, 2005 - To the extent that the Legislature chooses to assess a fee to cover the state’s share of costs of the Medfly Preventative Release Program, we offer a number of considerations concerning a fee structure.
February 24, 2005 - The budget proposes an augmentation of $4.8 million and 46 two-year limited-term positions for increased regulatory activities related to tribal gambling. The request would double the size of the California Gambling Control Commission. The request fails to (1) clearly articulate what problems are being addressed, (2) justify a new state gaming lab, and (3) reflect a joint strategy with the Department of Justice. We recommend that the Legislature reject the request and the administration resubmit a proposal which addresses these problems.
February 24, 2005 - The Governor proposes to suspend all of the state’s election-related reimbursable mandates. These suspensions would reduce the state’s General Fund costs by $16.5 million in 2005-06. The suspensions, however, could cause confusion regarding election procedures and reduce statewide uniformity. We recommend funding a number of the mandates, but with a simplified reimbursement method.
February 24, 2005 - The implementation of the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) represents a significant opportunity for the Legislature to upgrade the state’s election systems and improve the administration of election laws. At a statewide level, the most pressing HAVA deadline is the requirement to have a federally compliant voter registration database operational by January 1, 2006. We offer a number of key considerations to assist the Legislature in implementing HAVA.
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.