M E M O R A N D U M

Below please find my sixth annual contest to test just how closely the members of the Fourth Estate are reading the Perspectives and Issues and Analysis  books.

The rules remain the same:  The first completed and correct entry wins a dozen donuts (not at taxpayer expense) from Krispy Kreme. (Given the state’s current fiscal condition this year, the hole in the middle of this food group makes it a particularly apt prize. We promise to avoid all discussions on the size of the hole, however.) If no reporter submits a completed and correct entry by the deadline, our hard-working analyt­ical staff at LAO who dreamed up these questions get the donuts. The deadline for entries is noon on Friday, March 14, 2003.

My guidance to you also remains the same: As is often the case in budget analysis, the more absurd the answer, the more likely it sometimes is to be correct.

1. What is a “poison pill”?

(A)  An antidote distributed by the Department of Health Services Poison Control System.

(B)  A term used in pharmaceutical procurement to refer to a drug that is too costly for consumers to afford.

(C)  An illegal trapping method regulated by the Department of Fish and Game.

(D)  A bill provision that blows up a state-county realignment plan if a court finds certain provisions unconstitutional (P&I page 123)

2.   The Department of Health Services says it does not know how much of the $28 billion budgeted for Medi-Cal for 2003-04 would go for California Children’s Services, a special program for some of the state’s most medically fragile kids.  How much does the LAO estimate will be spent in 2003-04 for the Medi-Cal part of this program?

(A)  $500,000.

(B)  $1.8 million.

(C)  $42.3 million.

(D)  $1.2 billion (Analysis C-20).

3. Which of the following people would be charged a proposed new $20 fee to improve the security of courtrooms?

(A)  Persons filing civil lawsuits.

(B)  Trial attorneys.

(C)  Persons who pay their traffic tickets through the mail and thus never set foot in a courtroom.

(D)  Both (A) and (C) (Analysis D-19).

4.  The 2002-03 state budget act assumed that the federal government would provide the state with about $55 million for the costs of CALFED, a state-federal effort to address water problems in the San Francisco Bay-Delta. How much does LAO estimate that the state will actually collect from federal authorities during that period?

(A)  $900,000 (Analysis B-24).

(B)  $5.2 million.

(C) $11.3 million.

(D) $112 million.

5.  Which of these state agencies are responsible at various times for representing the state in proceedings before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission?

(A)  Electricity Oversight Board.

(B)  Public Utilities Commission.

(C)  Department of Water Resources.

(D)  All of the above, plus two more state agencies besides those above (Analysis B-68).

6.  The 2003-04 budget plan proposes that a new surcharge be added to the telephone bills of California consumers to pay for:

(A)  Tighter state regulation of telephone utility companies.

(B)  Support of a consumer help line for persons with telephone service complaints.

(C)  Helping individuals with disabilities to obtain telephone services.

(D)  California Highway Patrol antiterrorist security patrols (Analysis A-80).

7.  An $8.2 million a year program subsidizes private companies with up to $300,000 in state funds to offset the cost of certain fees they must pay to local governments.  What kind of private entities receive these subsidies?

(A)  Developers of affordable housing.

(B)  Waste recyclers.

(C)  Movie and television producers (Analysis F-103).

(D)  Community health care clinics.

8.  Most top research universities typically use about half of their building space for classrooms and half for research activities. What share of space in the University of California is devoted to research?

(A)  10 percent.

(B)  40 percent.

(C)  55 percent.

(D)  80 percent (Analysis G-87).

9.  Cities can claim reimbursement from the state for the cost of carrying out activities mandated by the state, such as the requirement that they prepare a housing “element” as part of their local general plans. The City of Moreno Valley submitted a bigger reimbursement claim for its housing element work than did the City of Corona, although it is about the same size in population as the other city. Moreover, the Moreno Valley housing element was found not to be in compliance with state law, while Corona’s did meet state requirements. How much bigger was Moreno Valley’s claim for state money?

(A)  Two times larger.

(B)  Ten times larger.

(C)  20 times larger (Analysis F-96).

(D)  100 times larger.

10.  What are the consequences of not removing the exemption for agriculture from requirements that they obtain air quality permits when their operations emit pollutants?

(A)  The state would lose up to $2.5 billion in transportation funding.

(B)  Permits to increase air emissions would have to be conditioned on the elimination of twice the amount of those emissions within the same local air district.

(C)  The state would be out of compliance with federal law.

(D)  All of the above (Analysis B-114).

11.  How does the budget propose to shift the responsibility for scientific peer review of pesticide risk assessments?

(A)  From the Department of Pesticide Regulation to the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment.

(B)  From the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment to the Department of Pesticide Regulation.

(C)  From the Department of Health Services to the Department of Pesticide Regulation.

(D)  From the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment to the Secretary for Cal-EPA (Analysis B-129).