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4,641 Publications Found
May 22, 1991 - The purpose of this issue paper is to assist the Legislature in understanding the organizational and policy issues surrounding the state's environmental programs, and in evaluating how the specific reorganization proposals address these issues. In this paper we discuss how to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the state's environmental protection efforts through changes in the organization of environmental programs and through changes in the process for setting environmental protection priorities.
May 14, 1991 - Chapter 479, Statutes of 1988 (SB 2592, Dills), eliminated, for a three-year trial period, the statutorily set limits on the finance rates that retailers may charge consumers on their retail credit accounts in California. The original rate limits were established by the so-called Unruh Act in 1959. Chapter 479 lifts the rate limits from January 1989 to January 1992, after which time these limits will go back into effect. It also requires the Legislative Analyst to report to the Legislature on consumer credit rates charged in California in 1989 and 1990, during the first two years of the deregulation period. Our report provides this required credit rate information, along with various other information that may assist the Legislature in interpreting the data and deciding whether to allow limits on consumer credit finance rates to go back into effect in 1992.
May 1, 1991 - Analysis of the 1991-92 Tax Expenditure Budget
March 26, 1991 - California's mental health system is a partnership involving shared responsibilities between the state and counties. The system is governed by the Short-Doyle Act, enacted in 1957. The act requires the Department of Mental Health to provide leadership in administering, planning, financing, and overseeing mental health services, including local programs. Mental health services are funded primarily from state funds, with a required county match for certain services.
February 27, 1991 - Analysis of the 1991-92 Budget Bill
February 27, 1991 - (308 pages, 13 MB) As the Legislature faces deliberations on the 1991-92 budget, the combination of underlying structural imbalances and a downturn in the California economy has resulted in an estimated two-year budget funding gap of almost $10 billion. The Governor's Budget seeks to address the budget problem through a combination of proposals to reduce existing state services and increase revenues, and contains a number of "prevention" proposals aimed at reducing the cost of existing services in future years. However, the Governor's budget does not fully address the funding gap and also raises concerns regarding its impacts on health and welfare program users, schools, and other affected groups. Ultimately, the Legislature must craft a plan that balances the need for state services with the need to address the state's underlying structural budget problem.
February 13, 1991 - In this analysis, we document the recent increases in caseload and welfare dependency in the AFDC-FG Program and identify the factors contributing to this trend. We then examine various options—including the administration's proposal—which are available to the Legislature to help control the program's costs and reduce welfare dependency.
February 1, 1991 - In this analysis, we (1) provide background on the state's existing rail system, how rail systems have been financed up until 1990, and the key features of the new rail programs financed by bond funds; (2) review the state's role in the planning, development, and implementation of the state's rail system; (3) discuss the coordination of the state's rail capital outlay programs; and (4) review issues related to two future rail bond measures scheduled for the November 1992 and 1994 elections.
February 1, 1991 - In the Analysis of the 1991-92 Budget Bill, we report the results of our detailed examination of the Governor's departmental spending proposals for the coming fiscal year. By contrast, The 1991-92 Budget: Perspectives and Issues provides an overall perspective on the state's revenues and expenditures for the budget year. It also looks to the future in an effort to focus on some of the challenges facing California in the years ahead. This document summarizes, by program area, the principal findings and recommendations set forth in the Analysis and the Perspectives and Issues.
February 1, 1991 - Over the past several years, many of California's counties have experienced increasing financial stress. While Butte County is perhaps the most visible example of recent county financial troubles, our analysis indicates that the problem is inherent to the existing arrangement of state and county responsibilities and affects all counties to greater or lesser extent. The existing county-state partnership suffers from a variety of structural problems—such as program fragmentation, counter-productive fiscal incentives, and the inappropriate division of responsibilities—that both diminish the effectiveness of these programs and reduce the financial viability of county governments
February 1, 1991 - Migrant Farmworker Housing
February 1, 1991 - State and Local Agencies' Use of Housing Revenue Bonds
February 1, 1991 - Year-Round School Incentives
February 1, 1991 - Proposition 98 provides K-12 schools and community colleges with a constitutionally guaranteed minimum level of funding in 1988-89 and thereafter. Under the provisions of this measure, funding requirements for K-14 education programs are determined using a series of complex calculations based on factors related to both workload-based needs and state revenue availability.