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636 Publications Found
February 18, 2004 - The budget proposes eliminating the California Consumer Power and Conservation Financing Authority (CPA). Although CPA has been unable to fulfill its core mission to finance new power plants, this has largely been due to market conditions. Given significant uncertainties regarding the adequacy of the state’s energy supply to meet future demand, we think retaining some of CPA’s functions (either within or outside CPA) has merit
February 18, 2004 - The budget proposes to impose a new fee on timber owners to partially cover the costs incurred by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CDFFP) in its review and enforcement of timber harvest plans (THPs) beginning in the current year. While this is a step in the right direction, we recommend the enactment of fee legislation that would go further by fully funding the costs of CDFFP and all other state agencies with THP review responsibilities.
February 18, 2004 - Development in and around floodplains has contributed to increased losses due to floods, but the state’s efforts to improve floodplain management have been reduced significantly in recent years. We recommend reducing the state’s share of funding for certain flood control projects to better reflect the local benefit from these projects. This would create future savings that could be used to make more strategic flood management investments and benefit the General Fund.
February 18, 2004 - The CALFED Bay-Delta Program—with a projected $6 billion funding gap—is at a funding crossroads. To date, the state has been the biggest funding contributor by far to the program, with federal and local governments and water users lagging in their support. We recommend a funding framework for CALFED that applies the beneficiary pays principle, including a fee on water users that take water from the Bay-Delta system.
February 18, 2004 - State transportation funding has not kept pace with increasing travel for various reasons, including the fund transfers noted above. Stabilizing transportation funding would increase the efficiency of transportation expenditures. We recommend the Legislature (1) ask voters to repeal Proposition 42, (2) replace the lost transportation revenue with an increase in the gas tax, and (3) index the gas tax to prevent future erosion of transportation revenues relative to travel demand.
February 18, 2004 - In both the mid-year cuts submitted in November 2003 and in the 2004-05 Governor's Budget, the administration has proposed to use a number of transportation funds to provide about $2 billion in one-time General Fund aid over the current and budget years. This includes suspending in 2004-05 the transfer of $1.1 billion derived from the sales tax on gasoline to the Transportation Investment Fund.
February 18, 2004 - The customer service, driver safety, and cost effectiveness of the DMV’s driver licensing process can be improved. We recommend the department report at budget hearings on the viability of making administrative changes to reduce the millions of in-person visits at field offices. We further recommend the enactment of legislation for various fees to encourage fewer in-person visits at field offices and offset costs related to the program.
February 18, 2004 - Every year over 30 million customers visit the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) field offices. Staff reductions in recent years have caused average customers wait times to grow significantly, from 35 minutes in 2001-02 to a projected 80 minutes in 2004-05. We recommend that the Legislature reexamine the levels of service to be provided by DMV. If the Legislature determines that current wait times and overall service levels are unacceptable, we recommend the Legislature restore selected field office positions
February 18, 2004 - Pavement maintenance protects the taxpayers’ investment in the highway system and can reduce long-term costs by postponing the need for more expensive roadway rehabilitation. Poorly maintained roadways increase costs to motorists for vehicle repair, costing drivers in Los Angeles or San Jose an average of more than $700 a year for instance. There is now a backlog of $587 million in pavement maintenance work. We recommend Caltrans refocus its maintenance efforts by developing an investment plan for highway maintenance. We also recommend Caltrans develop performance measures that link the state’s investment to the resulting quality of the highway system.