This Web-based list provides comments by the Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) on budget issues being considered by the Legislature in 2011. Both budget-related findings and recommendations are included, but this is not intended to be a comprehensive tracking system of all budget items. The LAO will continue to publish various other written documents analyzing the state budget. The purpose of this list is to provide an efficient forum for our office to address more technical budget issues for which we may not have a formal write-up.
This list is designed so it can be filtered by policy area or budget item. Also, selected information from the list can be downloaded to an Excel spreadsheet.
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| Last Updated | Program | Issue | Finding or Recommendation | More Detail? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9/2/2011 | Revenue | Preliminary information on August income tax collections | Provides preliminary information on California's personal and corporate income tax collections for the month of August 2011. | Detail |
| 8/18/2011 | Child Welfare Services and Foster Care | Additional Child Welfare Realignment Issues | In addressing the implementation of 2011 realignment, the Legislature may want to consider the following issues specific to child welfare: (1) prior state-county sharing ratios, (2) anticipated future program costs, and (3) base funding. | Detail |
| 6/2/2011 | Commission on State Mandates | Local Agency Formation Commissions Mandate | We recommend the Legislature eliminate future state costs for this mandate by amending the law to modify the requirement that special districts file written statements to Local Agency Formation Commissions (LAFCOs). Instead, we recommend that the law provide LAFCOs with the authority to require special districts to file these statements upon request. | Detail |
| 6/2/2011 | Commission on State Mandates | Local Government Employee Relations Mandate | We recommend that the Legislature request its policy committees review Chapter 901, Statutes of 2000 (SB 739, Solis) and propose amendments to eliminate the elements determined to be reimbursable mandates. | Detail |
| 5/26/2011 | Child care and development | May Revision Child Care and Development (CCD) proposals | Review of CCD changes in the March budget package and summary of the Governor's May Revision proposals. | Detail |
| 5/26/2011 | Career Technical Education | Clean Technology Partnership Academies | Reject Governor's May proposal to provide $3.2 million in Proposition 98 General Fund for Clean Technology Partnership Academies (CTPA) in lieu of funding from the Renewable Resource Trust Fund (RRTF). Though the RRTF is scheduled to sunset in December, the fund will likely have a balance sufficient to support implementation costs for the CTPA program in 2011-12. | |
| 5/25/2011 | LAO Budget Forecast | Governor's plan brings budget much closer to balance | Provides information on the LAO's updated forecast of General Fund revenues and expenditures through 2015-16 based on our initial assessment of the Governor's May Revision policies and proposals. | Detail |
| 5/24/2011 | Department of Transportation | Request for $1.9 billion in transportation special funds to pay for capital outlay support (COS) | Approve the overall level of COS resources requested. Recommend the Legislature adopt two changes to the mix of resources requested: (1) modify proposed budget bill language to allow up to 20 percent of the workload to be performed by private consultants, and (2) approve a technical adjustment to decrease the funding for COS activities supported from the State Highway Account by 430 FTEs (about $70 million) and increase reimbursement funding by an equivalent amount. | Detail |
| 5/24/2011 | Accountability | Student and teacher data systems | Reject Governor's May Revision proposal to eliminate funding for CALPADS and CALTIDES. Recommend funding CALPADS at slightly less than CDE-requested level and funding CALTIDES at CDE-requested level. | Detail |
| 5/24/2011 | Special Education | AB 3632 mental health services: realignment of funding and services | Adopt Governor's May Revision proposal to repeal the AB 3632 mandate and shift funding and responsibility to schools in 2011-12. | Detail |
| 5/24/2011 | AB 3632 mental health services | Realignment of funding and services | Adopt Governor's May Revision proposal to repeal the AB 3632 mandate and shift funding and responsibility to schools in 2011-12. | Detail |
| 5/24/2011 | AB 3632 mental health services | Realignment of funding and services | Adopt Governor's May Revision proposal to repeal the AB 3632 mandate and shift funding and responsibility to schools in 2011-12. | Detail |
| 5/24/2011 | Accountability | Federal Title I set aside carryover | Recommend adopting Governor's May proposal to distribute $21.3 million in carryover to all Title I school districts based on their low-income student counts. This approach is permissible under federal law and will provide some fiscal relief for all Title I districts. Data also suggest that anticipated 2011-12 funding will be sufficient to cover associated 2011-12 costs. (These funds are primarily used for a district Corrective Action program.) | |
| 5/24/2011 | Accountability | Quality Education Investment Act (QEIA) carryover | Recommend rejecting the Governor's May proposal to set aside about $40 million in unused 2010-11 QEIA funding for use by QEIA schools in 2014-15, the final year of the program. Instead, recommend recognizing the savings now and reappropriating the funds in 2011-12 for other Proposition 98 purposes. The state used this latter approach in 2010-11 (recognizing QEIA savings from 2008-09 and reappropriating the funds for other Proposition 98 purposes). | |
| 5/24/2011 | Education Mandates | Governor's May proposal to reform K-14 mandates | Adopt Governor's May proposal to eliminate half of all K-14 mandates and reduce total claims by roughly $96 million. In addition to significantly reducing costs, the proposal would (1) provide a clear framework for identifying which types of activities are worth requiring of all districts, (2) set the groundwork for a system that is more transparent and equitable as well as less cumbersome for districts, and (3) allow policy committees to decide how to treat specific mandates moving forward. | Detail |
| 5/24/2011 | State Controller | Local government oversight initiatives (General Fund) | Reject Governor's 2011-12 May Revision budget proposal for (1) $1.4 million General Fund to support 11.8 permanent positions beginning in 2011-12 and (2) trailer bill language (TBL) to expand SCO's authority regarding oversight of local governments. The SCO does not adequately justify the need or workload for the positions related to SCO's existing oversight authority, and the TBL would be better heard in the policy committee process because it is not related to the budget. | |
| 5/24/2011 | Proposition 98 | Governor's May Revision Proposition 98 budget proposal | Summary of LAO initial assessment of Governor's May Revision Proposition 98 proposal. | Detail |
| 5/24/2011 | Department of Transportation | Request for $63 million to replace vehicles to comply with air quality regulations | Approve the request for $63 million in funding from the State Highway Account and also adopt budget bill language directing the Department of Finance to adjust the appropriation based on the findings of an ongoing vehicle fleet survey. Specify that funding not needed for vehicle replacement instead be made available for pavement maintenance. | Detail |
| 5/24/2011 | State Controller | Local government oversight initiative (Reimbursement) | Reduce by half the May Revision budget request for $2.1 million in reimbursement authority to support 16.4 positions to provide increased oversight of local governments. Limit the approved positions to three-year limited term. Require SCO to report workload and reimbursement amounts. Workload for positions is not known and will affect the number of positions required and the amount of reimbursements received from local governments. | |
| 5/23/2011 | High-Speed Rail Authority | Governor’s May Revision proposals | Approve the Governor’s proposals to increase funding for IT services by $781,000, increase staff positions by 15 at a cost of $1.7 million, and fund the interagency agreement with Caltrans for $1.25 million. Reject the $500,000 augmentation for the outreach and communications contract, as well as the adjustments to the capital outlay proposals. These recommendations are consistent with those we make in our recent report High Speed Rail Is at a Critical Juncture. | Detail |
| 5/23/2011 | Secretary for Business, Transportation, and Housing | Request for $279,000 in General Fund dollars to promote the jobs tax credit for small businesses | Reject the Governor’s request for $279,000 in General Fund dollars to fund one staff and consultant services for outreach and technical assistance to small businesses for the state’s jobs tax credit. Our analysis finds that certain state departments and other entities that assist small businesses already provide similar efforts and as a result, providing additional funding for outreach for this tax credit would likely be duplicative. | Detail |
| 5/23/2011 | Department of Insurance | Request for $748,000 to fund positions to work on implementing federal health insurance reform | We recommend the Legislature reject the May Revision request for $748,000 in special funds to pay for eight currently authorized positions. Our analysis finds that the department has funding for 17 staff that is in excess of the level of resources justified on a workload basis. The department can redirect funds to pay for the eight positions. | Detail |
| 5/23/2011 | Department of Developmental Services | Preliminary LAO review of the Department of Developmental Services savings proposals | Recommend the Legislature adopt the administration's proposals to achieve savings in the Community Services Program. However, for some specific proposals, our analysis indicates that it is uncertain whether the full savings would be achieved. | Detail |
| 5/23/2011 | County Welfare Automation | Proposed Los Angeles Welfare Automation Suspension | Pause, rather than suspend indefinitely, the LEADER Replacement System (LRS). This is one of three county-led consortia that make up the statewide automated welfare system (SAWS) and is nearing the end of its useful life. Given federal concerns, we believe the Legislature should pause this project pending the development of a longer-term comprehensive strategy for SAWS. | Detail |
| 5/22/2011 | Department of Mental Health | Transfer administration of behavioral health programs to the Department of Health Care Services | Recommend that the administration’s proposal to transfer administrative responsibility for EPSDT, MHMC and Drug Medi-Cal from DMH and DADP to DHCS in 2011-12 be referred to policy committees. Recommend that the Legislature reject the administration’s proposed BBL that would provide DOF with authority to transfer both staff and expenditure authority between appropriations for DADP, DMH, and DHCS just ten days after giving the Legislature notification. | Detail |
| 5/22/2011 | Department of Health Care Services | Savings due to the Quest Diagnostics legal settlement. | Recommend the Legislature recognize $50.1 million in savings from a legal settlement with Quest Diagnostics. | Detail |
| 5/22/2011 | Department of Mental Health | Safety and Security in State Hospitals | Recommend that the Legislature approve the 78.0 positions but reduce funding by $1.1 million General Fund (25 percent salary savings rate) to more accurately reflect the rate at which the positions are likely to be filled in the budget year. Recommend the Legislature approve the $4.1 million for the new personal alarm system. | Detail |
| 5/22/2011 | Department of Health Care Services | Transfer Healthy Families Program to Department of Health Care Services | Recommend that the administration’s proposal to transfer Healthy Families Program be referred to policy committees. Recommend that the Legislature reject the administration’s proposed BBL that would provide DOF with authority to transfer both staff and expenditure authority between appropriations for MRMIB and DHCS just ten days after giving the Legislature notification. | Detail |
| 5/20/2011 | Colorado River Board | Proposed elimination of the Colorado River Board (CRB) | Approve Governor’s May Revision proposal to eliminate the CRB. | Detail |
| 5/20/2011 | State Water Project | State Water Project staffing for regulatory compliance, safety, and maintenance | Updated recommendation: Approve three positions for "AB 32 compliance" as these positions have been justified on a workload basis. In summary, we recommend rejection of 33 positions requested for future years. We recommend approving 90 positions for State Water Project maintenance, regulatory compliance, and safety improvements (including the three AB 32-related positions). | Detail |
| 5/20/2011 | Salton Sea Restoration Council | Proposed elimination of the Salton Sea Restoration Council | The Governor’s May Revision proposal to eliminate the council affords the Legislature the opportunity to consider whether Salton Sea restoration remains a fiscal and policy priority. If considered not to be a priority, then the Governor's proposal should be approved. If considered to be a priority, there are alternative governance structures to the Salton Sea Restoration Council that could be explored. Whatever form restoration efforts move forward in, a viable funding plan should be required. | Detail |
| 5/20/2011 | Department of Conservation | Staffing in Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) | Deny Governor's proposal for an increase of 30 permanent positions and six limited-term positions, and a baseline appropriation of $4,686,000 from the Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Administrative Fund, for DOGGR's offshore and onshore regulatory programs. | Detail |
| 5/20/2011 | Department of Parks and Recreation | Funding for public safety technology modernization project | Approve requested reversion of $4.5 million of unexpended General Fund monies, but deny both the requested appropriation of $4.5 million from State Parks and Recreation Fund and reappropriation of $1.6 million from Off-Highway Vehicle Trust Fund for this technology project. It is premature to approve the budget-year funding until a new Special Project Report has been submitted to the California Technology Agency reflecting a rescoping of the project that is currently under development. | Detail |
| 5/20/2011 | Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission | Funding shift for AB 32-related activities | Updated Recommendation: Approve the Governor's April Finance letter proposal to shift funding of $483,000 for AB 32-related activities from the Energy Resources Programs Account to the AB 32 fee. | Detail |
| 5/20/2011 | Public Utilities Commission | Request for 10 positions to implement 33 percent Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS) | Recommend that one position requested for Governor's distributed generation initiative be denied and that four positions requested for transmission planning and permitting be approved only on a limited-term basis. Recommend that the five remaining positions in the request (two of which are for a limited term) be approved as requested. | Detail |
| 5/20/2011 | Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission | Implementation of 33 percent Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS) | Approve Governor's May Revision proposal requesting $646,000 for five permanent positions and contract funds to implement the state's 33 percent RPS. | Detail |
| 5/20/2011 | AB 32 Implementation | Recommendations from our review of AB 32 zero-based budget submitted by Administration on May 4 | Reduce cap-and-trade-related expenditures budgeted for 2011-12 by $8 million (Air Pollution Control Fund) and direct remaining $961,000 budgeted for cap-and-trade to be used only to complete an alternatives analysis required by the courts. Direct Air Resources Board to cease all work on the cap-and-trade program until it has completed the required alternatives analysis and presented the results to the Legislature. | Detail |
| 5/20/2011 | Department of Social Services (DSS) | Adoption Assistance Program Rate Increase | Consider redirecting $6.6 million ($2.8 million General Fund) from the Adoption Assistance Program (AAP) to Child Welfare Services (CWS). In addition to funding a court-imposed 31 percent Foster Care home rate increase, the May Revision proposes a similar discretionary grant increase for prospective AAP cases. We believe the issue of parity between AAP grants and Foster Care home rates should go through the policy committee process. Temporarily redirecting funds preserves legislative control. | Detail |
| 5/20/2011 | CSU Pension Cost "True Up" | Proposed $69 million cut directed at CSU is unjustified. | Recommend that the Legislature reject the Governor's proposal to, as the administration puts it, "true up" prior-year allocations to CSU under a technical budget control section related to pension costs. Recommend adoption of budget bill language expressing legislative intent that a better process be developed for future allocations to CSU of this type. | Detail |
| 5/20/2011 | California Postsecondary Education Commission | Eliminating California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC) | Modify Governor's 2011 May Revision proposal to eliminate CPEC by ensuring continuation of high priority coordination functions (such as data collection and analysis, and review of new academic programs and campuses) in some form. Options include transferring these functions to an existing department, reforming or replacing CPEC, or delaying elimination (see detailed narrative). | Detail |
| 5/20/2011 | Employment Development Department | Use of federal incentive funds for implementation of Alternative Base Period | Consider using federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) incentive funds to offset General Fund costs at the Employment Development Department. By setting aside additional ARRA funds, the Legislature could offset EDD General Fund costs of about $30 million in 2011-12 followed by annual General Fund savings of about $23 million through 2014-15. | Detail |
| 5/20/2011 | CSU Pension Cost "True Up" | Proposed $69 million cut directed at CSU is unjustified. | Recommend that the Legislature reject the Governor's proposal to, as the administration puts it, "true up" prior-year allocations to CSU under a technical budget control section related to pension costs. Recommend adoption of budget bill language expressing legislative intent that a better process be developed for future allocations to CSU of this type. | Detail |
| 5/20/2011 | Proposal for $1.5 million to study hybrid pension systems | Unclear value of Governor's hybrid plan study proposal. Inappropriate for CalPERS to lead effort. | Recommend that if the Legislature appropriates $1.5 million from the General Fund, as proposed by the Governor, to "study and identify alternatives for hybrid pension systems" for public employees, that it reject the Governor's plan to have CalPERS be the entity that conducts this study. Given CalPERS' independent fiduciary and rate setting roles under our Constitution, placing it in this role of advising the Governor as he develops a pension policy proposal would be inappropriate. | Detail |
| 5/16/2011 | California Community Colleges | Basic aid districts | Reduce General Fund support for basic aid districts by a total of $5.9 million in 2011-12. | Detail |
| 5/5/2011 | Revenue | April state sales taxes $302 million above projections...gain may be temporary | Provides update on April 2011 sales and use tax collections, as well as overall "Big Three" state tax revenue collections for the fiscal year to date. | Detail |
| 5/4/2011 | Revenue | April income tax payments $237 million above projections, per FTB preliminary tally | Provides description of Franchise Tax Board's preliminary tally of April 2011 personal income tax and corporation tax payments to the state. | Detail |
| 5/2/2011 | Department of Health Care Services | Diagnosis Related Group Payment System | Recommend approval of $860,000 total funds ($344,000 General Fund) and seven two-year limited-term positions in the Safety Net Financing Division. We recommend denial of five positions for Audits and Investigations (A & I) and the redirection of five existing A & I Adult Day Health Care audit staff for two-year limited terms. | Detail |
| 4/29/2011 | Revenue | Weak final collection day--April income taxes likely $250 million above projection | Provides final update on preliminary daily agency cash reports of April 2011 personal and corporate income tax collections, net of refunds. | Detail |
| 4/28/2011 | State Water Project | Lake Perris Dam Rehabilitation | Deny request for $757,000 in Proposition 84 funds for seismic repairs at Perris Dam because action on this issue is premature until a more comprehensive analysis of the costs and benefits of various repair alternatives has been conducted and provided to the Legislature for its policy consideration. | Detail |
| 4/28/2011 | AB 32 Implementation | Statutory requirement for submittal of AB 32 zero-based budget by April 1, 2011 | Reverse prior approval of AB 32 expenditures in 2011-12 budget due to failure of administration to submit a statutorily required zero-based budget justifying AB 32 workload across state government. | Detail |
| 4/28/2011 | Revenue | April income tax collections on track to be $300 million above projections | Provides update on preliminary daily agency cash reports of April 2011 personal and corporate income tax collections, net of refunds. | Detail |
| 4/27/2011 | Public Utilities Commission | April Finance Letter: Advanced energy storage | Approve Governor's April Finance Letter to increase the Public Utilities Commission Utilities Reimbursement Account by $452,000 and redirect four positions from the workforce cap reduction to evaluate the cost-effective use of advanced energy storage. | Detail |
| 4/27/2011 | Public Utilities Commission | April Finance Letter: Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant Seismic Study Review | Approve Governor's April Finance Letter to increase the California Public Utilities Commision's (CPUC's) reimbursement authority by $393,000 to fund an interdepartmental review panel that will review seismic studies of the Diablo Canyon Power Plant. | Detail |
| 4/27/2011 | Department of Forestry and Fire Protection | Budget solution: reduce amount of zero-based budget for fire protection permanent funding by $9.7m | The Governor’s January budget proposal to make permanent $42.8m of expenditures temporarily shifted from the emergency fund to CalFire's base budget has merit. However, to serve as an option for General Fund budget solution, we have identified a reduction to the request totaling $9.7m of lower priority activities. This includes eliminating: Large Air Tanker, Victorville Base, 1.0 PY Aviation coordinator, Lake Tahoe engine/staffing, Defensible space program, and 1.0 PY of CAL Card support. | Detail |
| 4/27/2011 | State Water Project | Davis-Dolwig cost allocation study | Amend requested budget bill language to have the study instead focus on legal issues that need to be resolved before the Legislature can proceed with making needed policy reforms to the Davis-Dolwig Act | Detail |
| 4/27/2011 | Salton Sea Restoration (Departments of Fish and Game, Water Resources) | Salton Sea Restoration Funding (Reappropriations and Reimbursement Expenditure Authority) | Deny April Finance Letter request for reappropriation of $13 million from the Salton Sea Restoration Fund (SSRF)--which includes Proposition 84 bond funds--to Department of Fish and Game (DFG). Deny April Finance Letter request for $4.2 million in reimbursement authority for Department of Water Resources (DWR). Expenditures are not appropriate at this time because of a lack of a formally approved restoration plan and legal uncertainty surrounding the Quantification Settlement Agreement (QSA). | Detail |
| 4/27/2011 | State Water Project | State Water Project staffing for implementation of biological opinions | As an update to our January 2011 recommendation: Reject six of 18 positions proposed in the Governor's January budget for improving State Water Project (SWP) compliance with wildlife-related regulations, for a savings of $795,000 (SWP funds). We find that some additional staff are needed to meet missed regulatory deadlines and for new workload associated with the regulations relating to SWP operations in the Delta and Suisun Marsh. | Detail |
| 4/27/2011 | Public Utilities Commission | Advanced energy storage (See April Finance Letter for update on issue) | Deny, without prejudice, Governor's January budget proposal for two positions and $229,000 to develop policies and incentives regarding advanced energy storage (AES), until such time as the administration provides a workload analysis that provides sufficient justification for the proposal and adequately accounts for legislative policy direction provided in 2010 legislation. | Detail |
| 4/27/2011 | Public Utilities Commission | Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant Seismic Study Review (See April Finance Letter for Update) | Reject Governor's January budget proposal to appropriate $500,000 to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to contract for consultant services to review PG&E's seismic study of the vicinity surrounding Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant. Instead recommend administration return with revised lower-cost proposal using services of Department of Conservation's California Geological Survey for the review. | Detail |
| 4/20/2011 | Wildlife Conservation Board | Reappropriations of Propositions 40 and 84 bond funds | As an updated recommendation regarding the Governor's January budget proposal: (1) Deny reappropriations of $11 million Proposition 84 and $3 million from Proposition 40 for restoration of the San Joaquin River Parkway because WCB has informally withdrawn their request for these reappropriations; (2) Approve reappropriation of $25 million from Proposition 84 for Natural Communities Conservation Planning because WCB has provided a detailed and specific action plan for expenditure of the funds. | Detail |
| 4/8/2011 | Revenue | Big Three state taxes above projections in March. Personal income taxes strong. | Provides report on March 2011 personal income, corporation, and sales and use tax collections based on preliminary agency cash reports | Detail |
| 4/1/2011 | CalSTRS | Unfunded liabilities grow, system says. Billions more of annual funding eventually needed. | Provides update concerning CalSTRS' newly released June 30, 2010 actuarial valuation, including context concerning possible future budgetary effects for the state, school districts, and/or community college districts. | Detail |
| 4/1/2011 | CalSTRS | Unfunded liabilities grow, system says. Billions more of annual funding eventually needed. | Provides update concerning CalSTRS' newly released June 30, 2010 actuarial valuation, including context concerning possible future budgetary effects for the state, school districts, and/or community college districts. | Detail |
| 3/8/2011 | Revenue | Big Three state taxes below projections in February | Provides report on February 2011 personal income, corporation, and sales and use tax collections based on preliminary agency cash reports. | Detail |
| 3/1/2011 | CalSTRS | System officials say budgeted 2011-12 state payment may be more than required by law | Informs Legislature of analysis by system officials suggesting that the state's payments to CalSTRS in the Governor's Budget may be more than required by current statutes. | Detail |
| 2/25/2011 | Proposition 98 | Overview of Proposition 98 conference issues | Build Proposition 98 package that reconciles differences between the houses, addresses all identified shortfalls, and achieves same overall level of Proposition 98 savings. | Detail |
| 2/24/2011 | Child Care and Development (CCD) | Overview of CCD Conference Committee issues | Summary of CCD proposals before the Budget Conference Committee and LAO compromise package. | Detail |
| 2/24/2011 | Commission on State Mandates | “Suspend” the mandated provisions of the Open Meeting Act Reform mandate. | Recommend the Legislature amend the Open Meeting Act statute to recast its mandated provisions as “best practices” for implementing Proposition 59. | Detail |
| 2/22/2011 | Revenue | Updated revenue forecast due to prior incorrect allocation of sales tax receipts | Updates our February 15, 2011 General Fund forecast based on updated sales tax information released by the State Board of Equalization and the administration. | Detail |
| 2/18/2011 | Department of Insurance | Request for $8 million in special fund expenditure authority to fund 54 new positions | Revised LAO Recommendation (June 2011). Recommend that the Legislature approve 39 of the 54 requested positions and reduce the Governor’s request by 15 positions. Our analysis indicates that some of the proposed positions are unjustified at this time. | Detail |
| 2/16/2011 | Revenue | Eliminating state enterprise zone programs | Recommend eliminating state enterprise zone programs because they are expensive and have not been shown to be effective. | Detail |
| 2/16/2011 | Revenue | Require use of single sales factor for multistate corporate income apportionment | Recommend adoption of a mandatory single sales factor method for multistate and multinational corporate income apportionment. | Detail |
| 2/16/2011 | California Community Colleges | Funding and flexibility for credit basic-skills instruction | Recommend the Legislature reduce the funding rate for credit basic-skills instruction to the same rate provided for noncredit basic skills, for state savings of about $125 million in 2011-12. Provide more flexibility by permitting colleges to (1) hire basic-skills instructors possessing a bachelor's degree or higher, as well as to (2) contract out basic-skills instruction to a third party. | Detail |
| 2/16/2011 | California Community Colleges | Categorical-program flexibility | Approve the Governor's 2011-12 budget proposal to extend categorical-program flexibility through 2014-15 (rather than through 2012-13 under current law), so as to provide colleges an opportunity to create a multi-year plan for allocating resources. Alternatively, enact legislation to allow colleges to use these categorical-program funds for any educational purpose (such as to offer additional course sections) through 2014-15. | Detail |
| 2/16/2011 | California Community Colleges | Contracting out for noninstructional services | Recommend the Legislature ease restrictions on contracting out for noninstructional services. | Detail |
| 2/16/2011 | California Community Colleges | Prioritizing course enrollment | Recommend the Legislature (1) adopt statewide registration priorities that maximize access for the CCC system's most-focused students under the Master Plan; (2) establish a 100-unit cap on the number of taxpayer-subsidized credits a CCC student may accumulate, for savings of up to $175 million in 2011-12; and (3) eliminate state funding for repetition of physical education and other recreational classes, for savings of about $60 million in 2011-12. | Detail |
| 2/16/2011 | California Community Colleges | Enrollment fees | Approve the Governor's 2011-12 budget proposal to raise fees from $26 per unit to $36 per unit in order to leverage more federal funds to mitigate programmatic impacts on CCC services, while shielding financial needy students (who do not pay fees). Consider raising fees even higher than the Governor's proposed 2011-12 level (such as to $40 per unit) to take fuller advantage of the effective federal subsidy of CCC programs. | Detail |
| 2/16/2011 | California Community Colleges | 50 percent law | Give districts more ability to hire faculty that provide direct support services to students by including expenditures on counselors and librarians as part of instructional costs. Alternatively, suspend the law. | Detail |
| 2/16/2011 | California Community Colleges | Full-time faculty targets (75/25 law) | Suspend requirements on the number of full-time faculty that districts must employ. | Detail |
| 2/16/2011 | California Community Colleges | Intercollegiate athletics | Eliminate state funding for CCC intercollegiate athletics, for savings of about $55 million in 2011-12. | Detail |
| 2/15/2011 | Revenue | LAO state revenue forecast similar to the Governor's for 2010-11 and 2011-12 | Provides an update to the Legislature on our office's current economic and General Fund revenue forecasts. | Detail |
| 2/14/2011 | Department of Mental Health | Coleman Bed Expansion Vacaville Psychiatric Program - 64 Beds. | Recommend reduction of $1.8 million General Fund to reflect phased in activation of 80.3 requested positions. The Governor's budget does not adequately account for a phase-in of these positions based on the activation schedule provided by the department. | Detail |
| 2/11/2011 | Resources Bonds | Overview of resources bonds | Presented handout on status of resources bond fund conditions, Governor's proposed resources bond expenditures, impact of delayed spring bond sale, and other issues. | Detail |
| 2/10/2011 | University of California, California State University | Achieving General Fund Savings at UC and CSU | Mitigate the impact of proposed budget reductions on UC's and CSU's educational missions by (1) achieving some of the savings in the current year, (2) providing direction to the segments as to how cuts should be accommodated, and (3) making certain policy decisions now for out-year savings. | Detail |
| 2/10/2011 | Student Aid Commission | Financial Aid Savings Options | Modify financial aid programs to better target resources and create GF savings. Options include eliminating non-need-based fee waivers ($25 million), raising minimum GPA for Cal Grant eligibility from 2.0 to 2.5 ($20 million), limiting Cal Grant competitive awards to stipends only (no fee coverage) ($30 million), adjusting Cal Grant financial eligibility criteria (variable), reducing the amount of fee revenue redirected to campus aid programs (variable), and modifying CCC fee waiver program. | Detail |
| 2/9/2011 | Department of Food and Agriculture | Elimination of General Fund support ($32 million) for local fairs and expositions. | Adopt Governor's budget proposal. Given the dire fiscal condition of the state, we recommend that the Legislature adopt the Governor's proposal to eliminate General Fund support for local fairs and county agricultural activities. While this funding may be critical to support the operations of smaller fairs, most larger fairs would be able to continue to operate because state support is a smaller share of their overall revenues. | Detail |
| 2/9/2011 | Redevelopment | Eliminating redevelopment agencies | Recommend eliminating California's redevelopment program. In contrast with the administration's proposal, however, we suggest recognizing all the redevelopment revenues as property taxes. | Detail |
| 2/8/2011 | Department of Justice | Funding for legal services | Modify Governor's January budget proposal to transition General Fund-supported state agencies to a "billable-services" model for the legal services they receive from the Department of Justice (DOJ) by reducing the proposed General Fund appropriation to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for DOJ legal services by $5.5 million, in order to reflect more recent data of the level of services used. | Detail |
| 2/8/2011 | State Operations | Elimination of the Office of the Secretary of Education (OSE) | Recommend the Legislature approve the Governor's January proposal to eliminate OSE. This would provide General Fund savings of $400,000 in 2010-11 and $1.9 million in 2011-12. In addition to achieving savings, the administration's proposal would help streamline a fractured K-12 governance system that lacks clear lines of accountability. | |
| 2/8/2011 | Education Mandates | Overview of the budget for K-12 mandates | Summary of Governor's K-12 mandate proposal and LAO recommended approach. | Detail |
| 2/8/2011 | Finance and Flexibility | Aligning state operations with new finance system | Recommend refocusing the California Department of Education's (CDE) mission to better match a more flexible K-12 finance system. Rather than focus on compliance monitoring, we recommend the CDE devote its resources to data collection, accountability, and dissemination of best practices. | Detail |
| 2/8/2011 | Finance and Flexibility | Flexibility options available to school districts in the budget year | Recommend providing several additional flexibility options to school districts in 2011-12. Specifically, recommend removing strings tied to K-3 Class Size Reduction, Home-to-School Transportation, and after school programs; linking flex funding to average daily attendance; eliminating certain mandated education activities; easing restrictions on contracting out for noninstructional services; and easing restrictions on pay rates and priority for substitute teaching positions. | Detail |
| 2/8/2011 | California Department of Education | Long-term improvements to the K-12 finance system | Recommend making lasting improvements to the state's K-12 finance system. Given the flexibility package adopted in 2009 is not especially responsive to students' needs and with flexibility provisions set to sunset in 2013-14, we recommend the state begin consolidating all K-12 funding into revenue limits and a few block grants. In general, the state should minimize the number of block grants in order to protect services for at-risk students while maximizing flexibility for districts. | Detail |
| 2/8/2011 | Cash management | K-12 inter-year payment deferrals | Summary of the state's increased use of deferrals in recent years, the advantages and disadvantages of deferrals, and other major factors the Legislature should consider as it decides whether to approve additional K-12 deferrals. | Detail |
| 2/8/2011 | Economic Impact Aid (EIA) | Governor's proposed reduction | Reject Governor's January budget proposal to reduce EIA by $54 million because Governor incorrectly assumes the program will have participation-related savings. Participation trends suggest little, if any, budget-year savings likely to materialize. | Detail |
| 2/8/2011 | Proposition 98 | Governor's January Proposition 98 budget proposal | Summary of LAO initial assessment of Governor's January Proposition 98 budget proposal. | Detail |
| 2/8/2011 | Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery | Overview of the Beverage Container Recycling Fund | Presented handout providing an overview of the Beverage Container Recycling Fund and the beverage container recycling program administered by the department. | Detail |
| 2/7/2011 | Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation | Extending outpatient mental health treatment for condemned inmates | Reject Governor’s January 2011-12 budget proposal to provide the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation with 4.3 new positions and $445,000 in additional funding to extend the availability of Enhanced Outpatient Program treatment for condemned inmates who are mentally ill at San Quentin, given the availability of existing resources to meet the increased workload. | Detail |
| 2/4/2011 | Revenue | January sales taxes very strong. "Big Three" taxes now $1.6 billion over projections. | Provides report on January 2011 sales and use tax collections based on preliminary State Board of Equalization data. | Detail |
| 2/4/2011 | Revenue | January income taxes exceed projections | Provides report on January 2011 personal income and corporation tax collections based on preliminary Franchise Tax Board data. Cautions that the strong year-to-date collection trends may be difficult to sustain through the remaining five months of 2010-11. | Detail |
| 2/3/2011 | Child Care and Development | Overview of the child care and development budget | Summary of Governor's child care and development proposals and LAO recommended approach. | Detail |
| 2/3/2011 | Commission on State Mandates | Mandate analyses and recommendations | We recommend that the Legislature (1) Consider Including Election Mandates in Realignment Plan (2) Consider Placing Some Mandates Before the State’s Voters—or Recasting Them as Statutes That Implement Voter-Approved Measures (3) Reconsider Whether Some Public Safety Mandates Should Be a Local Responsibility | Detail |
| 2/2/2011 | Employee Compensation | Reductions to employee compensation. | Provides background information regarding the Governor's 2011-12 employee compensation proposals. Discusses: 1) current year budget shortfalls; 2) the Governor's proposal; 3) analysis of the Governor's proposal; and 4) alternative options to achieve savings in employee compensation. | Detail |
| 2/2/2011 | Department of Mental Health | Realignment of Mental Health Programs | Recommend the Legislature consider the Governor's realignment proposal for certain mental health programs. A realignment of these programs has merit and may be workable, but the Legislature will have to address some significant fiscal and policy issues in developing a realignment plan. | Detail |
| 2/2/2011 | Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs | Realignment of Alcohol and Drug Programs | Recommend the Legislature consider the Governor's realignment proposal for alcohol and drug programs. A realignment of these programs has merit and may be workable, but the Legislature will have to address some significant fiscal and policy issues in developing a realignment plan. | Detail |
| 2/2/2011 | Department of Developmental Services | The 2011-12 Budget: Options to Achieve Savings In The Regional Center System | We recommend approval of the Governor's budget proposals to (1) extend the 4.25 percent provider payment reduction and the commensurate reduction to regional center (RC) operations, and (2) obtain additional federal funds for services provided through the developmental centers and the RCs. We also recommend the Legislature either expand the existing Family Cost Participation Program or implement means testing to determine who is eligible to receive these state services. | Detail |
| 2/1/2011 | Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation | Additional nursing positions for medication distribution | Reject Governor's proposal for an $11.9 million General Fund augmentation for an additional 211.3 nursing positions to distribute medication to inmates, given that none of the additional nursing positions authorized in the 2010-11 budget for this purpose have been filled. Reduce the Receiver's inmate medical services budget by $6.7 million to reflect that these funds that are no longer needed--as indicated by the Receiver--for the purposes that they were provided for in the 2010-11 budget. | Detail |
| 2/1/2011 | Revenue Accruals | New approach boosts budget revenue $719 million, reduces Prop. 98 guarantee $1.5 billion | Recommend that Legislature pass law to require more transparency for future administration changes in revenue accruals and, over time, move state budget accounting closer to alignment with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). The administration's new accrual approach moves the state budget closer to GAAP in some respects, but we believe the approach was imperfectly executed in the Governor's budget revenue estimates in several ways. | Detail |
| 1/31/2011 | Judiciary | Shift state funding to pay for court security to counties. | Governor's proposal to realign court security to counties does not make sense, because the state judicial system would continue to be responsible for the overall operation of the courts. As an alternative, we recommend the Legislature direct the courts to contract on a competitive basis for court security. | Detail |
| 1/31/2011 | Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation | Shift responsibility for remaining juvenile offenders from the state to counties. | Governor's proposal to realign responsibility for remaining juvenile offenders to counties merits serious legislative consideration. However, we have identified several implementation issues that would need to be addressed. | Detail |
| 1/30/2011 | Crosscutting | Reenactment of the fuel tax swap | We recommend that the Legislature adopt the Governor's proposals to reenact the fuel tax swap and use weight fees to achieve General Fund relief of roughly $1.6 billion in 2010-11, and $943 million in 2011-12. We also recommend taking advantage of an additional $194 million in weight fees for General Fund relief. In addition, we recommend that the Legislature consider additional options to achieve even greater General Fund relief from transportation funds. | Detail |
| 1/30/2011 | California Transportation Commission | Public private partnership consultant | Reject without prejudice the request for a three-year $400,000 annual contract from the State Highway Account for a consultant to assist the Commission in the evaluation of public private partnership (P3) projects. Revisit the request later in the budget process when more information on workload will be available. | Detail |
| 1/28/2011 | Department of Social Services (DSS) | Approach to the 2011-12 CalWORKs budget | The Governor's budget proposes a series of CalWORKs solutions which total about $1.5 General Fund. The Legislature faces a difficult balancing act between maintaining program goals and obtaining significant savings. In an available handout, we assess the impacts of the Governor's proposals and present alternatives. | Detail |
| 1/28/2011 | California Children and Families First Commission | Redirection of Proposition 10 funds | Adopt the Governor’s January 2011-12 budget proposal to place a measure before voters in a June 2011 special election to allow the use of Proposition 10 funds for children on Medi-Cal, reducing state General Fund costs by $1 billion in the budget year and $215 million in 2012-13. The Legislature could go beyond the Governor’s proposal by increasing the amount to be redirected from Proposition 10. | Detail |
| 1/28/2011 | Community Care Licensing | CDSS BCP#51--Recently Enacted Legislation | Reject Governor’s January 2011-12 budget proposal for authority to establish 0.8 positions in the budget year and 1.5 positions in 2012-13 to implement Assembly Bill 2084, which requires licensing program analysts to inspect beverages served at child day care facilities. We believe these activities can be absorbed in the current work flow. We have no issues with the remaining portion of this proposal which is related to different legislation. | |
| 1/28/2011 | Department of Social Services (DSS) | Child Welfare Realignment | The Governor's proposal to realign the child welfare system to counties and shift $1.6 billion in tax revenue in lieu of General Fund has merit, but the Legislature will have to address some significant fiscal and policy issues in developing a realignment plan. | Detail |
| 1/28/2011 | SSI/SSP | Reduce monthly grants for SSI/SSP individuals to the federal minimum. | Adopt the Governor's proposal to reduce grants to the federal minimum. This would result in General Fund savings of $15 million in 2010-11 and $182 million in 2011-12. | Detail |
| 1/28/2011 | California Department of Aging | Elimination of the Multipurpose Senior Services Program (MSSP) | Reject elimination and instead reduce the MSSP program by $5 million General Fund. (The Governor's proposed elimination of MSSP is estimated to save $19.9 million General Fund.) Direct the Departments of Aging and Health Care Services to begin negotiating with the federal government to reduce the operational costs of the MSSP program to allow local sites to manage the reduction while maximizing the number of recipients served. | Detail |
| 1/27/2011 | Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation | Shift responsibility for adult parole from the state to local governments | Governor's proposal to realign responsibility for adult parole to local governments merits serious legislative consideration. However, we have identified several implementation issues that would need to be addressed. | Detail |
| 1/27/2011 | California Science Center | Unallocated reduction of $3.7 million General Fund | Adopt the Governor’s January budget proposal of an unallocated reduction for the Science Center of $3.7 million General Fund. Support for the Science Center should come from a mix of funding that includes admission fees, private donations, and other non-state revenues. Given the number of annual visitors and other potential revenue sources we believe that the Center could achieve the proposed reduction. | Detail |
| 1/27/2011 | Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation | Additional funding to address "structural shortfall" in CDCR’s budget | Require the administration to revise its proposal to provide a $395 million General Fund augmentation to CDCR for past funding shortfalls to include (1) a more accurate accounting of CDCR's budget imbalances, (2) specific measures to reduce costs, and (3) specific plans for achieving separate unallocated reductions in personnel costs and inmate health care. Also recommend the Legislature exert stronger oversight of CDCR's budget. | Detail |
| 1/27/2011 | Department of Consumer Affairs - Board of Accountancy | Repayment of $10 million loan to the General Fund | Reject the Governor’s January 2011-12 budget proposal to repay a $10 million loan that was made from the Board of Accountancy to the General Fund in 2010-11. Adopt budget bill language to delay repayment of this loan for one year. Our review of the fund balance at the Board of Accountancy found that reserves are adequate and repayment is unnecessary in 2011-12. Delaying repayment of the loan would help to provide General Fund relief in the budget year. | Detail |
| 1/27/2011 | Department of Consumer Affairs - Board of Accountancy | Peer Review Program | Reject the Governor’s January proposal to fund one office technician to perform clerical workload. Advise the board to maximize the use of technology, such as the online submission of data and emailing information to licensees. More fully utilizing this technology should enable the board to reduce staff workload associated with mailing and processing hardcopy forms. | Detail |
| 1/27/2011 | Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation | Shift jurisdiction of lower-level offenders from the state to local governments | Governor's proposal to realign responsibility for lower-level offenders to local governments merits serious legislative consideration. However, we have identified several implementation issues that would need to be addressed. | Detail |
| 1/27/2011 | Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation | Realignment of responsibility for parole violators from the state to local governments | Governor's proposal to realign responsibility for parole violators to local governments merits serious legislative consideration. However, we have identified several implementation issues that would need to be addressed. | Detail |
| 1/26/2011 | Small Business Loan Guarantee Program (SBLGP) | Increased federal funds | Adopt Governor’s January budget proposal to augment the program by $84 million in federal funds and revert $20 million to the General Fund (GF) from SBLGP in 2011-12. Also, adopt trailer bill language to revert additional GF dollars as the lines of credit and the loans backed by roughly $24 million in state funds expire. Reduce request for additional staff by one and approve the .5 managerial position. Consider eliminating GF subsidy of $1.7 million for the financial development corporations. | Detail |
| 1/26/2011 | Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire) | Realignment of fire and emergency response activities | The Governor’s proposal to realign a portion of CalFire's fire protection program to local government has merit and warrants serious consideration by Legislature.The context of the Governor's proposal, discussed further below, has been the rapid development in State Responsibility Areas that has raised state costs to fight wildland fires and has resulted in the department being increasingly involved in activities that are outside its core mission and more appropriately a local responsibility. | Detail |
| 1/25/2011 | Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation | Warm shutdown of the Northern California Reentry Facility (NCRF) | Reduce the Governor's January 2011-12 budget proposal to place NCRF on warm shutdown by $475,000, because the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has not been able to justify the need for additional funding for operating expenses and equipment. | Detail |
| 1/25/2011 | Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation | General Fund expenditures for correctional facilities. | Delete the $8 million General Fund appropriation proposed by the Governor for completing the design of a Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning project at Ironwood State Prison, as well as for minor projects and budget packages for future capital outlay projects, and instead support these projects from funds already appropriated from the General Fund in Chapter 7, Statutes of 2007 (AB 900, Solorio). | Detail |
| 1/25/2011 | Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and California Highway Patrol (CHP) | Early partial repayment ($40 million) of 2010-11 Motor Vehicle Account (MVA) loan | Recommend the Legislature maximize MVA funds available for General Fund relief. Have DMV and CHP report at budget hearings on the impact of the additional savings, not scored in the Governor's January 2011-12 budget, and delay for one year the lease of the consolidated commercial drivers' license facility ($20,000 savings). | Detail |
| 1/25/2011 | Judiciary | Targeted reductions to the judicial branch | Achieve $350 million in savings in the judicial branch in 2011-12 by (1) making changes to court reporting practices, (2) utilizing competitive bidding for court security, (3) reducing trial court funding based on workload analysis, (4) fully utilizing contracting out for court interpreting services, (5) reducing funding to account for trial court reserves, and (6) transferring funds from the Immediate and Critical Needs Account. | Detail |
| 1/25/2011 | Child care and development | Options for generating savings | Build CCD package based on legislative priorities. We offer a menu of CCD savings options, including modifying the Governor’s age limit proposal to apply to all school-age children (and prioritizing these children for before and after school services); modifying the Governor’s income eligibility proposal to a higher or lower threshold; reducing reimbursement rates for licensed and/or license-exempt providers; increasing parent fees; and reducing funding for child care contract administration. | Detail |
| 1/25/2011 | Child Care and Development | Child care subsidies | Reject Governor's proposal to reduce child care subsidies by 35 percent. | Detail |
| 1/25/2011 | Child care and development | CalWORKs Stage 2 child care | Reject Governor's proposal to sweep $11 million from 2010-11 Stage 2 appropriation, as it is premature to assume savings will materialize in this program. | Detail |
| 1/25/2011 | Child care and development | CalWORKs Stage 3 child care | Weigh Governor's proposed restoration of CalWORKs Stage 3 child care against other child care priorities. | Detail |
| 1/25/2011 | Child Care and Development | Quality improvement activities | Approve Governor's proposal to reduce funding for quality improvement activities by $16 million, but designate own list of programs to maintain, reduce, or eliminate. | Detail |
| 1/25/2011 | Child care and development | Centralized eligibility lists (CELs) | Approve Governor's proposal to eliminate $7.9 million in funding for CELs to instead prioritize funding for direct services. | Detail |
| 1/24/2011 | Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation | CDCR facility activation planning | Reject Governor’s January 2011-12 budget request to provide the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation with 15.6 new positions and $5.1 million in additional funding for facility activation planning, given that existing resources are available to meet the increased workload. | Detail |
| 1/24/2011 | CalPERS | Amendments needed for pension reporting bill that was passed as part of the 2010 budget package | Amend Chapter 733, Statutes of 2010 (SB 867, Hollingsworth), to make pension reporting requirements of CalPERS and the State Treasurer more useful and workable. Require reporting based on more reasonable alternate investment return rates for the pension system. Focus reporting requirements more on state plans, instead of CalPERS' hundreds of local plans. Require an official other than the Treasurer to provide the independent analysis to the Legislature required under the bill. | Detail |
| 1/24/2011 | Department of Transportation | Project Resource and Schedule Management (PRSM) system | Approve the Governor's January budget request to extend the time that the Department of Transportation has to expend $8.3 million in funds for implementation of the PRSM system. In addition, we are working with the department to identify the level of savings resulting from a change in the project. We recommend that the Legislature revisit this issue later in the budget process to score the appropriate level of savings from this change. | Detail |
| 1/24/2011 | Department of Transportation | Proposition 1B capital funding | Approve the Governor's January budget request to appropriate $2.3 billion of bond funding to the Department of Transportation for various Proposition 1B programs. However, recommend the Legislature adjust the dollar amounts downward to reflect existing appropriations of bond funds provided in the current year, but not yet used. We are working with the department to determine the appropriate amount of adjustment. | Detail |
| 1/24/2011 | Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation | Activation of various new prison facilities | Reduce Governor’s January 2011-12 budget request for 153.7 positions and a $15.9 million General Fund augmentation for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to activate four new prison facilities, in order to account for cost reductions that would be incurred at other prison facilities. | Detail |
| 1/23/2011 | Department of Housing and Community Development | HCD administration of the Enterprise Zone (EZ) program | Conforming issue. If the Legislature adopts the Governor’s January 2011-12 budget proposal to eliminate enterprise zone tax credits, recommend elimination of the ten positions at HCD responsible for administering the program. | Detail |
| 1/23/2011 | Department of Health Care Services | Implement utilization limits, impose copayments and benefit reductions to achieve Medi-Cal savings | Recommend the Legislature adopt some proposals to implement utilization limits, reject the proposal to limit prescription drug utilization, and consider alternatives to some utilization limits. Recommend the Legislature consider alternatives to the administration's copayment proposals. Recommend the Legislature adopt the proposal to eliminate over-the-counter cold and cough medicine, and consider an alternative to the administration's proposal to limit enteral nutrition to tube feeding. | Detail |
| 1/23/2011 | Department of Health Care Services | Reduce Medi-Cal Provider Payments by 10 Percent | Recommend the Legislature: (1) approve rate reductions pursuant to a study, (2) require department to report at budget hearings on the likelihood of federal approval as well as the implications of recent lawsuits and court actions, and (3) require the department to establish a process for establishing fee for service rates. | Detail |
| 1/22/2011 | Department of Fair Employment and Housing | Transfer of IT function to Department of General Services (DGS) and staff to handle new workload | Adopt Governor’s 2011-12 January budget proposal to transfer DFEH’s IT workload to DGS. Reject transfer of five positions to DGS and $507,000 in General Funds to pay for these staff. Instead, eliminate the five positions at DFEH and require DGS to justify the need for additional staff on a workload basis. In addition, withhold redirecting two positions from DFEH’s IT unit to its enforcement division until volume of the new workload is better known (anticipated in mid-February). | Detail |
| 1/21/2011 | Delta Stewardship Council | Reimbursement funding | Reject $5.8 million in reimbursement authority requested in the Governor's January budget that is stated to come from unknown sources and be for "unallocated" purposes. (The amount of such unallocated reimbursement authority was updated on January 21, based on a technical correction and clarification from the Department of Finance.) | Detail |
| 1/21/2011 | California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority | Reimbursement authority to implement the AB 118-funded ethanol producer incentive program | Deny, without prejudice, the Governor's January budget proposal to provide reimbursement expenditure authority of $9 million to the California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority to implement the California Energy Commission’s (CEC's) AB 118-funded Ethanol Producer Incentive Program, until such time as the CEC has submitted for legislative review a draft of its 2011-12 Investment Plan for the AB 118 Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program. | Detail |
| 1/21/2011 | California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority | Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program loan loss reserve | Reverse, without prejudice, the Governor’s January budget inclusion of a $15 million transfer from the Renewable Resource Trust Fund to the California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority for the PACE Reserve program, pending resolution of a legally contested matter that has essentially put PACE programs in the state operationally on hold. | Detail |
| 1/20/2011 | Department of Forestry and Fire Protection | Staffing levels on CalFire fire engines | Approve Governor's January budget proposal to create $30.7 million in 2011-12 General Fund savings in CalFire from eliminating funding in CalFire for the fourth firefighter on CalFire fire engines. This returns the department to the pre-2003 level of per-engine staffing. | Detail |
| 1/20/2011 | Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery | Department's October 19, 2010 reorganization plan | Hold hearings on department's recent reorganization plan to shed light on which reorganization options would serve to implement department's programs as effectively as possible and create intended efficiencies and savings. Adopt supplemental report language requiring reporting on timing and amount of savings from implementing the reorganization. | Detail |
| 1/20/2011 | Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board | Increase premiums and copyaments, and eliminate the vision benefit for the Healthy Families Program | Recommend the Legislature: 1) require MRMIB to report in budget hearings on the likelihood of obtaining federal approval for its proposals; 2) require the administration to provide the statutory language necessary to implement its proposals; 3) consider the copayment proposals in the Healthy Families Program (HFP) in tandem with those in Medi-Cal; 4) consider imposing lower copayment and premium increases than those proposed by the administration; and 5) eliminate the HFP vision benefit. | Detail |
| 1/19/2011 | Delta Habitat Conservation and Conveyance Program (DHCCP) | Position authority for DHCCP | Reject request in the Governor's January budget proposal to make permanent the existing 15 limited-term positions for the planning and implementation stages of DHCCP. Instead, approve extending these positions by one year (through FY 2011-12) to allow the conclusion of the planning stage of DHCCP. | Detail |
| 1/19/2011 | Department of Forestry and Fire Protection | Budget option: enact a state fire protection service benefit assessment | As a budget option potentially creating $300 million in GF savings, the Legislature should consider enacting a fee on residential property owners who live in "State Responsibility Areas" and therefore benefit directly from the state's fire protection services that operate to protect structures on these mostly private lands. As outlined in a prior-year budget analysis, this would result in an appropriate sharing of costs between the public-at-large and private property owners for this activity. | Detail |
| 1/19/2011 | California Coastal Commission | California Coastal Commission's enforcement authority | Provide the California Coastal Commission with the authority to levy administrative civil penalties, which will help stabilize funding for and to reduce costs associated with enforcement actions. | Detail |
| 1/13/2011 | Department of Conservation | Williamson Act subvention funding | Approve Governor's January budget proposal to eliminate the one-time, current-year appropriation of $10 million from the General Fund for Williamson Act subvention payments to local governments that was made in 2010 policy legislation. | Detail |
| 1/13/2011 | State Water Resources Control Board | Fee-based funding for water quality and water rights regulation | Approve Governor's January budget proposal to shift funding for $13.6 million of the board's core regulatory program expenditures from the General Fund to the Waste Discharge Permit Fund (WDPF) and Water Rights Fund (WRF), on the basis that regulatory activities are appropriately funded from regulatory fees. | Detail |
| 1/13/2011 | Department of Parks and Recreation | General Fund support for state park operations | Approve Governor’s January budget proposal to create $11 million in ongoing General Fund savings beginning in 2011-12, resulting in a General Fund support budget of $119 million--a level consistent with the 2009 budget plan approved by the Legislature and previous LAO recommendations. The Governor also proposes an additional $11 million of ongoing savings beginning in 2012-13. We withhold recommendation on this component of the proposal, pending submittal of a plan for achieving these savings. | Detail |
| 1/13/2011 | California Coastal Commission | Budget option to create General Fund savings by fully funding regulatory activities from fees | Increase California Coastal Commission permitting fees to fully fund coastal development regulatory activities, creating about $5 million in General Fund savings. | Detail |
| 12/6/2010 | Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs | Three options for reducing costs in the Drug Medi-Cal Program. | We recommend the Legislature consider the following three options for reducing costs in the Drug Medi-Cal Program: 1) establish monthly co-pay for all program participants, 2) establish group counseling maximum in outpatient Drug Free Program, and 3) reduce maximum reimbursable counseling in the Narcotic Treatment Program. | Detail |