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Budget and Policy Post

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The 2018-19 Budget: The May Revision—State Project Infrastructure Fund

May 14, 2018 - The Governor’s May Revision proposes to deposit an additional $630 million General Fund into the continuously appropriated State Project Infrastructure Fund (SPIF). This funding is anticipated to fund the renovation of the Bateson, Unruh, and Resources Buildings, as well as the demolition of the State Printing Plant. We find that if these projects are a legislative priority for General Fund resources, it is reasonable to set aside funding for them. However, we continue to have serious concerns with the SPIF, which we find limits legislative oversight. Accordingly, we recommend modifying the SPIF so that it is no longer continuously appropriated.


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The 2018-19 Budget: Governor's May Revision Medi-Cal Budget

May 14, 2018 - In this post, we describe and provide our initial comments on adjustments to the Medi-Cal budget in the 2018-19 May Revision.


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The 2018-19 Budget: The May Revision—California State Payroll System

May 14, 2018 - The 2018-19 May Revision proposes multiyear funding related to the California State Payroll System (CSPS). In this post, we describe and comment on the proposal. We also discuss how the rationale for the payroll system has evolved.


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The 2018-19 Budget: The May Revision—State Earned Income Tax Credit Expansion

May 14, 2018 - The 2018-19 May Revision proposes to expand the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit. In this post, we describe and comment on the proposal.


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The 2018-19 Budget: Governor’s May Revision Proposal for Caltrans’ Capital Outlay Support Program

May 13, 2018 - The Governor’s 2018-19 May Revision proposes 872 additional full-time equivalent staff resources for Caltrans’ capital outlay support program in order to accommodate increased workload resulting from Chapter 5 of 2017 (SB 1, Beall). In this post, we review the Governor’s proposal and identify issues for legislative consideration.


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The 2018-19 Budget: Initial Comments on the May Revision

May 12, 2018 - On May 11, 2018 the Governor presented his 2018-19 May Revision budget proposal to the Legislature. This post describes the major features of the Governor’s May Revision and our office’s initial comments on it.


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The 2018-19 Budget: The May Revision—Funding to Address Homelessness

May 12, 2018 - The 2018-19 May Revision proposes a package of actions and funding augmentations aimed at alleviating homelessness. In this post, we describe two major elements of the proposal.


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The 2018-19 May Revision: LAO Revenue Outlook

May 12, 2018 - In this report, we discuss our new revenue outlook for the state, released as part of our response to the Governor's 2018-19 May Revision.


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The 2018-19 May Revision: LAO Economic Outlook

May 12, 2018 - In this report, we discuss our new economic outlook for the state, released as part of our response to the Governor's 2018-19 May Revision.


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Estimating the Cost of Expanding Full-Scope Medi-Cal Coverage to Undocumented Adults

May 10, 2018 - This post responds to several requests for our office to estimate the cost of providing full-scope Medi-Cal coverage to undocumented adults over the age of 19 who are currently eligible for restricted-scope Medi-Cal coverage (that is, primarily emergency and pregnancy-related services). Based on a number of key assumptions, we estimate the total net state cost of this coverage expansion is approximately $3 billion in 2018-19. This net cost would be fully a state cost, and represents the change between the cost of providing full-scope Medi-Cal and the costs of providing restricted-scope Medi-Cal to the undocumented adult population.


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The 2018-19 Budget: California Earned Income Tax Credit Education and Outreach

May 8, 2018 - This post explains a grant program that provided funds for education and outreach related to the state earned income tax credit (EITC) and provides comments on how the Legislature might prioritize any future state-funded EITC outreach activities.


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The 2018-19 Budget: A Guide to Understanding Potential Changes in the Proposition 98 Guarantee

May 7, 2018 - This post provides an update on the key factors affecting estimates of the Proposition 98 minimum guarantee for 2017-18 and 2018-19 and describes how the guarantee could change relative to estimates in the Governor’s January budget. The post is intended as a planning guide to help the Legislature understand the relationship between changing inputs and the minimum guarantee over the coming year.


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The 2018-19 Budget: Review of Fair Political Practices Commission Budget and Workload

May 7, 2018 -

At the April 5, 2018 hearing of the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee Number 4, the committee directed our office to review the Fair Political Practices Commission’s budget and workload. This online analysis is the product of our review.

Updated 5/10/18:

  1. Changes to LAO Assessment to reflect new information regarding FPPC Advice Letter processing time.
  2. Addition of paragraphs (e) and (f) to proposed budget bill language.


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The 2018-19 Budget: Update on State Funding for K-12 School Facilities

May 3, 2018 - This post provides an overview of the state’s funding of school facilities, describes the Governor’s school facility bond sales proposal, assesses this proposal, and provides alternatives for the Legislature to consider.


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The 2018-19 Budget: Commission on Teacher Credentialing—Record Digitization

May 1, 2018 - In this post, we provide background on how the Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) stores credential records and describe the Governor’s proposal to provide $1.5 million onetime (special funds) to digitize the records of teachers issued credentials prior to 1989. We find that the proposal is not cost-effective and recommend the Legislature reject it.