Use either the form or links on the side to filter the list of publications. Browse other LAO products using the links at the bottom of the sidebar.
4,786 Publications Found
January 25, 2006 - We review infrastructure proposals in the Strategic Growth Initiative related to K-12 education. Presented to the Assembly Education Committee.
January 25, 2006 - We review infrastructure issues related to housing. Presented to Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee.
January 25, 2006 - In October 2003, the Legislature approved and the Governor signed Chapter 867, Statutes of 2003 (AB 1666, Cogdill, which allows alternatives for the payment of cigarette tax stamps by cigarette distributors. Prior law allows cigarette distributors (which are responsible for affixing the stamps to cigarette packages prior to their sale) to defer the payment for such stamps under certain conditions, including the posting of a surety bond or other form of security. The 2003 statute reduced-on a temporary basis until January 2007-the minimum amount of the required security posted by distributors while increasing the frequency of their required tax remittances to the state from monthly to bimonthly. The measure requires the Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) to report on the impact of the statute.
January 24, 2006 - The Supplemental Report of the 2005 Budget Act directs the Legislative Analyst’s Office to identify “the range of structural options available to the Legislature for providing the state with access to federally guaranteed student loan services,” giving special focus to the organizational arrangements used by other states. The language explicitly precludes us from recommending adoption of any particular organizational arrangement. Given this directive, in this report, we: (1) describe how states administer the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP), (2) discuss the shortcomings of California’s existing organizational arrangement for administering FFELP, and (3) identify the range of organizational options available for administering FFELP.
January 23, 2006 - We revise our December 14, 2005 summary of the fiscal effect of the MOU with Bargaining Unit 2, Attorneys and Hearing Officers, based on a side letter which changes the retirement provisions of the previous MOU. We estimate that current annual costs for salaries, salary-related costs, and health benefits for Unit 2 members total $396 million ($144 million General Fund). The proposed MOU would require 2005-06 expenditures of about $409 million (an increase of $13 million, or 3.3 percent). The MOU would require 2006-07 expenditures of about $436 million (an additional increase of $27 million, or 6.7 percent). The side letter reduces the amount of savings the MOU otherwise would have produced for the state. The magnitude of the foregone savings is unknown since it would have depended on future decisions of Unit 2 employees.
January 20, 2006 - If enacted by Congress, the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 would have a significant fiscal impact on California. We project, based on the provisions which we can estimate at this time, that the fiscal impact of this legislation on California would be $3.1 billion--$1.7 billion in reduced federal funds and $1.4 billion in increased state costs-during federal fiscal years 2006 through 2010. These amounts are preliminary estimates and do not reflect potentially significant secondary effects. In this report, we review the major provisions of this legislation, estimate the fiscal impact on federal funds and state funds based on current law, and identify key issues for legislative consideration.
January 19, 2006 - The new federal transportation act (SAFETEA-LU), enacted in August 2005, will provide $23.4 billion in federal funds to California through 2009 for highways, transit, and transportation safety. This represents a 40 percent increase in federal funding each year for transportation over the previous federal program. In addition to increasing federal funding to the state, SAFETEA-LU presents opportunities for financing transportation through nontraditional funding sources and expediting project delivery. There are a number of issues for the Legislature to consider when implementing the act in California. We discuss these issues and make recommendations where further legislative actions are warranted.
January 17, 2006 - In adopting the Master Plan for Higher Education, the Legislature envisioned an efficient process for students to transfer from community college to the University of California (UC) and the California State University (CSU). Thus, the plan calls for UC and CSU to accept all qualified community college students into their respective systems. This report reviews current transfer admission policies and identifies institutional barriers that can make the transfer process difficult for qualified students. We conclude that the current process lacks the systemwide standardization envisioned in the Master Plan, and recommend steps to make the transfer process more efficient and effective for students.
January 12, 2006 - The 2006-07 Governor’s Budget now projects that the state will be able to fund much more than a current-law budget and still maintain fiscal balance in 2006-07. The plan, however, moves the state in the wrong direction in terms of reaching its longer-term goal of getting its fiscal house in order. Given the state’s current structural budget shortfall, we believe that the 2006-07 budget should focus more on paying down existing debt before making expansive new commitments.
January 3, 2006 - There has been much interest recently both by the Governor and the Legislature in investing in the state’s infrastructure and using bonds to do so. This reflects both the state’s large current and future infrastructure needs and the key role that bonds will inevitably have to play in financing them. This brief answers a number of common questions related to using bonds to fund infrastructure. These questions include the overall nature of the infrastructure needs facing California, the different options for paying for them, and key issues and concerns associated with using more bonds.review infrastructure
December 9, 2005 - Is Community College Enrollment Funding Keeping Pace With Demand? (revised December 2005) This is one of a series of issue briefs examining important questions about higher education funding in California. For more information on this topic, or to request other briefs from this series, contact the Legislative Analyst’s Office Higher Education section at (916) 319-8339, or visit our website at www.lao.ca.gov.
December 7, 2005 - Chapter 794, Statutes of 2002 (AB 1401, Thomson), directed the Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) to evaluate the effectiveness of the measure in providing heath care coverage to individuals who are otherwise unable to obtain health benefits (the "hard-to-insure"). While we found there is now only limited information available to assess the outcome of various aspects of AB 1401, we concluded the measure has increased the state’s capacity to help hard-to-insure individuals access health coverage using the same level of state resources. Based upon our evaluation, we present several recommendations to improve the program by potentially reducing its costs to enrollees and the state.
December 6, 2005 - Presented to Assembly Committee on Jobs, Economic Development, and the Economy and the Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committee
November 30, 2005 - Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee and Assembly Select Committee on Growth and Infrastructure
November 22, 2005 - Assembly Select Committee on Foster Care