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4,769 Publications Found
February 1, 2007 - In 1987, a U.S. Supreme Court decision involving two California tribes set in motion a series of federal and state actions that dramatically expanded tribal casinos here and in other states. Now, California’s casino industry outranks all but Nevada’s in size. In this report, we answer key questions, including: How much do tribes pay to California governments? Are the administration’s near-term revenue estimates related to five proposed compacts with Southern California tribes realistic? What powers does the state have to ensure that tribes meet their obligations under the compacts?
January 31, 2007 - Elizabeth Hill testifies before the Assembly Budget Committee on the proposed Governor's Budget.
January 31, 2007 - In an effort to put the current discussion of crime in California in perspective, we have prepared this report to answer several key questions, including:
January 26, 2007 - What is being done to address California's transportation problems? How should the state ensure Proposition 1B funds effectively address congestion problems and provide mobility to facilitate the state’s growing economy? What other fund sources are available for transportation? How are these funds distributed? This graphically intensive publication seeks to answer these and other related questions.
January 24, 2007 - Elizabeth Hill comments on the proposed Governor's Budget in her January 24th testimony before the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee.
January 24, 2007 - Recent agreements between cities and private businesses involving diversions of millions of dollars of local sales taxes have highlighted concerns raised over the years about the present “situs-based” system for allocating local sales taxes. This report looks at these concerns and discusses options for dealing with them, including expanding restrictions on financial incentives and restricting use of buying companies to divert taxes.
January 22, 2007 - At the direction of the Legislature, we have worked with the tax agencies to identify a number of near-term steps that could be taken, short of full consolidation and technological integration, that could improve information and data collection and exchange, and thereby aid in tax enforcement and compliance.
January 22, 2007 - At her media presentation held on January 22nd, 2007, Elizabeth Hill discusses recommendations to assist the Legislature in implementing the bond package approved by voters in November 2006.
January 22, 2007 - In November 2006, California voters approved $42.7 billion in general obligation bonds to fund infrastructure projects in transportation, education, resources, and housing. The 2006 bond package represents a major opportunity for the Legislature to address many of the state’s most pressing infrastructure concerns. With more than $18 billion allocated to new programs, effective legislative oversight is critical to the success of the programs. In this report, we offer key considerations and recommendations to assist the Legislature in implementing the bonds. (Video Summary)review infrastructure
January 16, 2007 - When the state mandates that a local government provide a new program or higher level of service, the California constitution often—but not always—requires the state to reimburse the local government. Determining which state requirements must be reimbursed—and which local governments must pay for on their own—is not always easy. To help explain these issues, we prepared two narrated presentations. What’s a Mandate—An Overview provides a broad overview of the reimbursement requirement. What’s a Mandate—Learning Through Examples explores different types of state laws and regulations and helps you walk through the steps to sort out whether or not they would be a state-reimbursable mandate.
January 16, 2007 - When the state mandates that a local government provide a new program or higher level of service, the California constitution often—but not always—requires the state to reimburse the local government. Determining which state requirements must be reimbursed—and which local governments must pay for on their own—is not always easy. To help explain these issues, we prepared two narrated presentations. What’s a Mandate—An Overview provides a broad overview of the reimbursement requirement. What’s a Mandate—Learning Through Examples explores different types of state laws and regulations and helps you walk through the steps to sort out whether or not they would be a state-reimbursable mandate.
January 12, 2007 - Elizabeth Hill discusses our preliminary assessment of the the 2007-08 Governor's budget at her media presentation of January 12th 2007.
January 12, 2007 - The 2007-08 Governor’s Budget proposes a major redirection of transportation funds, reductions in social services, and a variety of other actions to eliminate a significant shortfall in 2007-08. The plan assumes that adoption of its proposals will result in a balanced budget with an over-$2 billion reserve. However, the budget contains a significant number of downside risks and is based on a number of optimistic assumptions. Its key proposals also raise serious policy and legal issues. Adverse outcomes in just a few of these areas could easily eliminate most or all of the proposed reserve.
January 11, 2007 - Each campus and medical center of the University of California (UC) periodically develops a long range development plan (LRDP) that guides its physical development--based on academic goals and projected student enrollment levels--for an established time horizon. This report reviews the process used by UC to prepare LRDPs and analyzes whether it adequately addresses the impacts that campus growth has on surrounding communities. We generally found a lack of accountability, standardization, and clarity in the current process, and recommend steps to make the process more transparent and effective (such as ensuring greater legislative oversight and public involvement in the development of an LRDP).
January 4, 2007 - Although the state licenses about 58,000 child care facilities serving up to 1.2 million children, there is little information readily available to parents about the safety and quality of this care. This report describes options to improve the availability of such information. We recommend that the availability of existing information be improved and that ratings be established based on a provider’s safety history.