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4,898 Publications Found
January 22, 2009 - At a cost of approximately $10.2 billion in 2008-09, California’s major social services provide a wide array of benefits to its citizens. The Governor proposes $3 billion in budget reductions for social services programs in 2009-10, mostly in grant payments to the aged, blind and disabled or low-income families. We present alternative approaches to reducing costs which tend to have less savings and less adverse impacts on recipients and clients. We also present approaches to drawing down more federal funds pursuant to recently enacted federal legislation.
January 14, 2009 - Deputy Legislative Analyst Michael Cohen and Principal Fiscal and Policy Analyst Jason Dickerson the LAO report, California’s Cash Flow Crisis—the second in the LAO’s 2009-10 Budget Analysis Series.
January 14, 2009 - Balancing the budget—by increasing state revenues and decreasing expenditures—is the most important way that the Legislature can shorten the duration and severity of the state’s cash flow crisis. Absent prompt action to begin addressing the state’s colossal budget gap and other measures discussed in this report specifically to help the state’s cash flows, state operations and payments will have to be delayed more and more over time. In the event that the Legislature and the Governor are unable to reach agreement to balance the budget by the summer of 2009, major categories of services and payments funded by the state may grind to a halt. This could seriously erode the confidence of the public—and investors—in our state government. To avoid this, it is urgent that the Legislature and the Governor act immediately to address the budgetary and cash crises that have put the state on the edge of fiscal disaster.
January 8, 2009 - Mac Taylor's press conference in which he discusses the LAO's Overview of the 2009-10 Governor's Budget
January 8, 2009 - The Governor’s budget framework makes a good faith effort to close a colossal $40 billion budget gap. The Legislature, however, can improve the plan by making further use of the ballot, adopting more strategic programmatic reductions and revenue increases, and reducing the reliance on borrowing. There are no easy paths to solving the crisis. But it is urgent that the Legislature and Governor act immediately to address a budgetary and cash situation that has the state on the edge of fiscal disaster
January 6, 2009 - California’s economically disadvantaged (ED) students are failing to meet federal and state academic standards and generally perform below their non-economically disadvantaged peers. This trend appears in all grade levels, with nearly two-thirds of second grade ED students and nearly three-fourths of eighth grade ED students performing at low levels. Given these shortcomings, we believe the state needs to be both more strategic and more flexible in its approach to supporting ED students. Specifically, we recommend: redefining the conversation to focus on the barriers impeding academic success; simplifying the system for all involved; refining funding formulas to reflect the pervasiveness and severity of students’ academic challenges; strengthening overall accountability by measuring year-to-year growth in student achievement; and, identifying and facilitating the sharing of best practices.
January 5, 2009 - This report was prepared pursuant to Chapter 844, Statutes of 2004 (SB 1534, Johnson) which expands the income eligibility criteria for use of the 540 2EZ tax form in filing resident personal income taxes (PITs). The measure also requires the Legislative Analyst’s Office to study the impact of the law change.
December 16, 2008 - On November 17, 2008, we reported on the draft scoping plan of the Air Resources Board (ARB) for implementation of the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. After reviewing both (1) the response of the ARB (dated November 26, 2008) to the questions we asked about the proposed scoping plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on October 3 of this year and (2) ARB’s response to the peer review of the scoping plan, our office continues to conclude that ARB's economic analysis of the AB 32 scoping plan lacks a sensitivity analysis and fails to lay out an investment pathway for the scoping plan.
December 11, 2008 - Presented to Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 2 On Resources, Environmental Protection and Energy
December 11, 2008 - Presented to Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 1 on Education
December 10, 2008 - As part of his 2008–09 special session package, the Governor proposed to speed up construction of $822 million in planned state transportation projects. We believe that the concept of accelerating transportation projects has merit. We offer an alternative approach that we believe would provide greater benefits with a similar amount of funding. Specifically, we recommend the use of revenue bonds backed by future gas tax revenues to accelerate 122 highway rehabilitation projects. These projects would be ready for construction in 2008–09, 2009–10, and 2010–11, but are not scheduled for construction until later years, due to limited funding. Our bond proposal would require voter approval. Accordingly, we recommend the Legislature place a measure on the next ballot to seek voter approval to issue $800 million in gas tax revenue bonds to fund these projects.
December 8, 2008 - Handout used in conjunction with Mac Taylor's testimony to the Joint Convention of the California Legislature, December 8, 2008.
December 1, 2008 - The role of the Legislative Analyst's Office is to review state programs and make recommendations to the Legislature as to how the state can operate more effectively and efficiently. This report summarizes various changes to law that we have recommended in recent years. Recommendations in this report include, among many others: (a) Simplify and Consolidate K-12 General Purpose Funding, (b) Promote the Adoption of Health Information Technology in California, (c) Fund Inmate Education Programs Based on Actual Attendance, and (d) Increase and Index the State Gas Tax.
November 21, 2008 - Powerpoint presentation to the California Association of School Business Officials which examines the LAO's Fiscal Forecast, An Overview of the Governor's (November) K-12 Special Session Proposals and an LAO Assessment of the proposals.
November 21, 2008 - We were asked to report on the draft scoping plan of the Air Resources Board (ARB) for implementation of the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (Chapter 488, Statutes of 2006 [AB 32, Núñez]). We conclude that (1) the scoping plan’s overall emissions reductions and purported net economic benefit are highly reliant on one measure—the Pavley regulations, (2) the plan’s evaluation of the costs and savings of some recommended measures is inconsistent and incomplete, (3) Macroeconomic modeling results show a slight net economic benefit to the plan, but ARB failed to demonstrate the analytical rigor of its findings, (4) economic analysis played a limited role in development of scoping plan, and (5) despite its prediction of eventual net economic benefit, the scoping plan fails to lay out an investment pathway to reach its goals for GHG emissions levels in 2020.