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636 Publications Found
February 20, 2008 - We recommend that $6 million proposed for the Governor’s Hydrogen Highway initiative be rejected, because sufficient funding remains available from prior appropriations in light of the relatively little program progress to date. We also find that the Legislature is in a position to set its own hydrogen policy priorities before approving additional funding.
February 20, 2008 - We recommend the enactment of legislation to create a fee on timber operators to fully fund the review and enforcement of timber harvest plans by several state agencies, thereby creating General Fund savings of $21.2 million. Our recommendation is based on the application of the "beneficiary pays" funding principle.
February 20, 2008 - We recommend applying the "polluter pays" funding principle more fully to the State Water Resources Control Board’s core water quality and water rights programs by (1) increasing existing fees to fully cover regulatory program costs, and (2) enacting a new broad-based fee to fully fund water quality management programs. Adopting our recommendations would create General Fund savings of $30.6 million.
February 20, 2008 - The Governor’s proposed surcharge on commercial and residential insurance policies statewide to partially pay for wildland firefighting should be rejected in favor of a fee on property owners in "state responsibility areas" because these individuals directly benefit from the state’s firefighting services.
February 20, 2008 - We recommend the enactment of legislation to establish a fee to cover the department’s flood management expenditures that provide a direct benefit to property owners in flood zones statewide and those protected by the state Central Valley flood control system, thereby creating General Fund savings of about $40 million.
February 20, 2008 - Contrary to legislative direction, the Governor has failed to identify a stable, long-term source of funding in the budget for implementation of "AB 32"--climate change legislation enacted in 2006. Instead, the Governor has relied on more borrowing from unrelated special funds to pay for a majority of the program. While not taking issue with the merits of the activities proposed for funding, we recommend that the Legislature defer action on a majority of the budget proposal until the administration submits a funding plan that is responsive to legislative direction.
February 20, 2008 - Various Delta-related planning efforts, including Delta Vision, have made recommendations that, if adopted, will fundamentally change the future approach of the CALFED Bay-Delta Program. We recommend denial of some CALFED budget proposals on the basis that, contrary to recommendations of the planning efforts, they either lack clear objectives and funding priorities, do not apply the beneficiary pays funding principle, or do not meet the information needs of policy makers.
February 20, 2008 - The Governor’s proposed budget for the California Community Colleges would fund 1 percent enrollment growth and make across-the-board reductions to categorical programs. We offer an alternative to the Governor’s proposal that includes funding for 1.7 percent growth and no across-the-board reductions. Our proposal includes more total resources for CCC by augmenting student fee revenue, which would supplement Proposition 98 support. In addition, our alternative plan increases fiscal and program flexibility for districts to meet local needs by consolidating several categorical programs into two block grants.
February 20, 2008 - As a result of a recent State Supreme Court decision, the higher education segments and other state agencies may need to reconsider how their growth plans affect surrounding communities and whether they should provide payments to local agencies for infrastructure improvements. We provide an overview of the higher education segments’ environmental review process, discuss the Court’s decision and its implications, and offer our recommendations to the Legislature on how to address the local impacts of campus expansion. review infrastructure
February 20, 2008 - We recommend an alternative to the Governor’s proposal that avoids making unallocated reductions and adheres to the State Master Plan for Higher Education. Our alternative would fund anticipated enrollment growth at the three segments. It would also modestly increase the share of education cost paid by students, while increasing financial aid to cover these higher costs for financially needy students.
February 20, 2008 - The Governor’s budget proposal for higher education includes large, unallocated reductions to the universities and the elimination of a key financial aid program. Taken together, these proposals could have a significant effect on college access and affordability.
February 20, 2008 - The current index used to calculate cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) for K-12 programs is not a particularly good indicator of increases in school costs. The Governor proposes to switch to a new index. Instead, we recommend the Legislature modify the current K-12 COLA index to focus on projected compensation cost increases.
February 20, 2008 - We recommend the Legislature consolidate 43 K-12 categorical programs (totaling $42 billion) into a base grant and three supplemental block grants. Categorical reform of this magnitude would offer districts multiple benefits--including a simplified, streamlined, more transparent funding system; greater ability to focus on student success rather than program compliance; and, perhaps most relevant in tight fiscal years, greater latitude to use available funds to address critical local needs.
February 20, 2008 - We offer an alternative to the Governor’s Proposition 98 budget proposal. Under the alternative, K-12 schools and community colleges would receive roughly the same amount of ongoing program support in 2008-09 as in the current year ($57.7 billion). As part of the alternative, we recommend funding certain core costs while obtaining savings from programs that are duplicative, poorly structured, or technically overbudgeted.
February 20, 2008 - While the prison system has taken some initial steps to improve its current population budget request documents, further work is needed. We recommend several steps to improve the process used to budget for changes in the prison inmate population that will improve their accuracy, efficiency, and transparency.