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May 7, 2014 - Presented to Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 5 on Public Safety
May 7, 2014 - This report categorizes and provides information about $340 billion in California's key retirement, infrastructure, and budgetary liabilities. In addition, this report provides a framework for the Legislature to consider in prioritizing repayment of these liabilities and makes recommendations on which liabilities to pay down first and how the state could address such costs in the future. In general, we suggest that the Legislature prioritize actions to pay down those liabilities (1) with relatively high interest rates or (2) that result in benefits for groups or entities other than the state government. Due to its massive unfunded liability and relatively high growth rate, we recommend that the Legislature make a full funding plan for the California State Teachers' Retirement System a top priority in addressing the state's key liabilities.
May 5, 2014 - During the recession, residential and commercial real estate values declined throughout California. As a result, many property owners received temporary property tax reductions as authorized by Proposition 8 (1978). In 2013-14, 3.2 million properties—about one-quarter of all properties in California—received a temporary property tax reduction. In total, temporary property tax reductions lowered local government property tax revenues by an estimated $7 billion in 2013-14, amounting to 15 percent of total property tax revenues statewide. However, real estate markets have recovered significantly over the past two years, and property tax payments for many of these property owners increased by as much as 20 percent in 2013-14. Going forward, we expect property tax payments for these owners to increase faster than 2 percent annually for several years. These increases likely will cause local property tax revenues to grow swiftly over the next several years as well.
May 1, 2014 - Presented to: Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 5 On Corrections, Public Safety and the Judiciary
May 1, 2014 - Presented to: Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 1 on Education
April 30, 2014 - This report provides background information on the motion picture industry and offers preliminary observations regarding the California film and television production tax credit. This report does not make recommendations regarding the tax credit or any proposed legislation. We highlight several factors for the Legislature to consider when reviewing the tax credit in our report.
April 29, 2014 - Presented to Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 1 on Education
April 29, 2014 - Presented to Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 2 on Education Finance
April 28, 2014 - Presented to the Legislature, this handout summarizes the key features of ACA 4—the rainy-day fund proposal currently on the November 2014 statewide ballot—and the Governor’s proposal for a different rainy-day fund mechanism. Revenue volatility presents a key challenge for state budgeting and the state has a poor track record of setting aside reserves when times are good to help balance the budget during later economic downturns. Designing another budgetary formula for the constitution involves implementation issues for legislative consideration.
April 23, 2014 - Presented to: Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 2 on Education Finance
April 23, 2014 - Presented to Assembly Government Organization Committee
April 22, 2014 - Presented to: Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 2 on Education Finance
April 11, 2014 - Due to a combination of poor budgeting practices and competing funding priorities, all of the state's education segments currently have a backlog of deferred maintenance projects. The Governor’s budget includes a package of proposals to begin addressing this backlog. While we commend the administration for highlighting deferred maintenance as a problem, we have concerns with the Governor's specific proposals and recommend the Legislature consider various alternatives. Looking beyond 2014-15, we believe the state should have a long-term strategy for properly maintaining education facilities. While a one-size-fits-all response very likely is not appropriate for such a diverse array of education segments, segment-specific plans likely could be very helpful. To this end, we recommend the Legislature require the education segments to develop plans that detail how much they set aside annually for scheduled maintenance, how they plan to eliminate their existing deferred maintenance backlogs over the next several years, and how they plan to avoid creating new backlogs thereafter. (In contrast to the other segments, we believe the state should not impose additional maintenance requirements on elementary and secondary schools at this time. The different approach for schools acknowledges the state’s recent decision to shift fiscal decision making and accountability for many aspects of schools’ operations—including maintenance—to the local level.)
April 10, 2014 - Presented to: Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 1 on Education and Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 3 on Health and Human Services
April 10, 2014 - Presented to Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 1 on Education