March 21, 2024 - In this post, we analyze the Governor's proposals to (1) use vacancy rates to identify one-time unallocated spending reductions across state departments through a budget exercise, (2) eliminate the telework stipend established under current labor agreements, and (3) defer June 2025 payroll by one day to reduce state payroll costs in 2024-25 by one month's payroll.
June 19, 2015 - We have provided information on the major provisions of the budget plan passed by the Legislature on Friday, June 19. (It does not reflect potential gubernatorial vetoes.) We will provide a more comprehensive summary of the budget plan in our annual California Spending Plan later this summer.
February 9, 2015 - This report examines the budget of the Department of State Hospitals (DSH), which provides inpatient mental health services to patients in DSH’s eight facilities. It provides an overview of the various components of the department’s budget, and details how the department develops its annual budget requests. The report finds several shortcomings with the current budgeting process. To address these, the report provides recommendations for the Legislature to consider.
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:
February 8, 2018 - In this report, we analyze the Governor’s budget proposals for various transportation departments and programs. We begin by providing an overview of the Governor’s proposed budget for each department and program. In the next section, we discuss two cross‑cutting state transportation issues: (1) funding from the tax and fee increases authorized by Chapter 5 of 2017 (SB 1, Beall), and (2) an update on the condition of the Motor Vehicle Account (MVA). In the following three sections, we analyze the Governor’s budget proposals for Caltrans, CHP, and DMV. In each of these sections, we provide relevant background, describe the proposals, assess the proposals, and identify issues and recommendations for legislative consideration. The final section consists of a summary of the recommendations we make throughout the report.
March 26, 2014 - In January 2014, the FI$Cal Project submitted, and the Department of Technology approved, special project report (SPR) 5, which updates the project plans. The SPR 5 includes changes in the project's scope, implementation schedule, and future staffing levels. In this report, we find that SPR 5 reduces overall project risk and make recommendations concerning (1) the project's annual reporting requirement to the Legislature and (2) recruitment and retention issues. Ultimately, we believe that the benefits of proceeding with FI$Cal development outweigh the inherent risks that remain, and therefore recommend approval of the Governor’s budget proposal that reflects a reasonable funding plan to implement the updated project plan (SPR 5).
March 1, 2016 - We are uncertain if the administration’s budget proposals will provide the Public Employment Relations Board the resources it needs to address the existing backlog in processing cases. We recommend that the Legislature (1) determine how fast cases should be addressed by the board and then (2) ask PERB and affected groups questions in order to understand what level of funding and staffing is necessary to process cases within the desired amount of time.
February 8, 2019 - The Governor’s budget includes over $600 million from the General Fund and Proposition 68 for deferred maintenance projects at various state departments. We recommend that the Legislature require (1) departments receiving funding to report at budget hearings on the approach they will use to prioritize projects, as well as specific projects they plan to undertake; (2) the Department of Finance to report, no later than January 1, 2023, on which projects departments ultimately undertook with the funds provided; and (3) departments that continue to experience growth in deferred maintenance backlogs over the next few years to identify the reasons for the increases and the specific steps they plan to take to improve maintenance practices on an ongoing basis.
February 12, 2016 - We find the Governor’s deferred maintenance proposal addresses an important state need. However, we also find that it raises several issues for legislative consideration. Specifically, we find that it lacks critical details, fails to address the underlying causes of the state’s deferred maintenance backlog, and proposes a process for identifying deferred maintenance projects for funding that is inadequate.
March 23, 2017 - Presented to: Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 1 on Education
March 3, 2017 - The Governor’s budget proposes $11 million in special funds and 82.5 positions, phased in over three years, for the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement to pursue additional investigations of labor standards violations. In this analysis, we provide our assessment of the Governor’s proposal and raise several concerns that we believe should be addressed before any funding and staffing are approved.
March 10, 2016 - In this report, we describe the FI$Cal Project, provide an update on the project’s status, and describe the events that triggered the development of a sixth special project report (SPR 6). We also describe the Governor’s 2016–17 budget proposals to: (1) allow the project to implement the changes proposed in SPR 6 and (2) establish a new state department to maintain and operate the FI$Cal System. Finally, we make associated findings and recommendations.
February 13, 2019 - In this report, we describe the major changes and proposals in the Governor's proposed $100.7 billion (all funds) Medi-Cal budget. Specifically, we advise the Legislature to seriously consider renewing the managed care organization tax, despite the Governor not proposing to do so; present issues for consideration related to the Governor's proposed expansion of comprehensive Medi-Cal coverage for young adults regardless of immigration status; and provide an initial assessment of the Governor's proposals to use Proposition 56 funding in Medi-Cal to extend and expand provider payment increases. We recommend approval of the Governor's proposals to improve fiscal oversight of the Medi-Cal budget, and also recommend that the Legislature require the administration provide additional information to the Legislature in an effort to improve fiscal oversight and transparency of this very large, complex budget going forward.
March 4, 2016 - The Governor’s 2016-17 budget proposes $3.8 billion from the General Fund for Department of Developmental Services (DDS) programs—a 7.5 percent increase over 2015-16 estimated expenditures. This report focuses on the Governor's major policy-driven spending augmentations in the community services program. This report also summarizes legislation enacted as part of the recent special session that provides significant additional funding to the community services program and considers the Governor’s January proposals in this context.
February 17, 2017 - At budget hearings on the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB), we recommend that the budget committees hear from PERB and affected employer and employee groups to understand (1) why PERB is not processing cases in a timely manner and (2) what actions are necessary for the department to meet legislative policy priorities.
April 18, 2017 - Presented to: Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 2 on Education Finance
April 4, 2017 - In light of concerns about the Department of Toxic Substances Control’s execution of its responsibilities in recent years, the Legislature has held numerous hearings to monitor the performance of the department’s programs. The Legislature has also approved additional funding and positions for the department to address deficiencies in some of these programs. In this web post, we discuss the department’s progress to date in addressing these deficiencies, as well as provide questions for legislators to ask the department in future budget and policy hearings to determine the degree to which the department is improving program performance.