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.
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.
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).
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 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.
February 19, 2003 - Recently, the Legislature has taken various steps, through budget control sections, to reduce the number of vacant positions in state government. We found that the Department of Finance (DOF) has provided most of the information requested. We recommend that DOF provide updated information.
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.
May 21, 2024 - The Governor’s May Revision proposes to (1) administratively establish a new ongoing unallocated 7.95 percent reduction to state operation expenditures and (2) make the 2024-25 unallocated reduction to state operation expenditures related to vacant positions ongoing (it was approved as “one time” as part of the Legislature’s early action package). Between the two proposals, the administration proposes that the Legislature delegate responsibility to the Governor to determine how to permanently reduce state operations by roughly 10 percent. As we discuss in this post, we think there is merit to the Department of Finance finding operational efficiencies; however, (1) any resulting reductions would be made based on the Governor's priorities and not necessarily the Legislature's priorities and (2) we think there is a high risk that the level of savings assumed from these two unallocated reductions will not fully materialize in 2024-25. To the extent that savings do not materialize, these proposals would create a larger future budget challenge.
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.
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 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.
March 23, 2017 - Presented to: Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 1 on Education