M E M O R A N D U M
Date: March 2, 2004
To: Capitol Media
From: Dan Carson
Subject: Seventh Annual Analysis Quiz
Below please find my seventh annual contest to test just how closely the members of the news media are reading the Analysis of the 2004-05 Budget Bill and The 2004-05 Budget: Perspectives and Issues.
The rules remain the same—the first completed and correct entry wins a dozen donuts (not at taxpayer expense) from Krispy Kreme. 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. (Any leftover donuts are subject to recall by the author of the quiz.) The deadline for entries is noon on Tuesday, March 9, 2004.
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. Which state office would be abolished under the Governor’s budget plan?
(a) The Office of Problem and Pathological Spending.
(b) The Office of Problem and Pathological Gambling. (See Analysis C-67.)
(c) The Office of Problem and Pathological Lying.
(d) The Office of Problem and Pathological Eating.
2. The Department of Finance last year conducted an assessment of the state's 117 active information technology projects. How many of these ongoing projects had experienced a change of 10 percent or more in its budget, schedule, or scope of work?
(a) 90. (See Analysis F-25.)
(b) 67.
(c) 45.
(d) 2.
3. The Governor's budget reduces funding for enrollment at UC and CSU by about $46 million. How many students do UC and CSU have the financial resources to serve in 2004-05?
(a) 20,000 fewer students.
(b) 10,000 fewer students.
(c) 7,000 fewer students.
(d) 6,100 more students. (See Analysis E-187.)
4. A Department of Finance report in November 2003 found that Caltrans’ legally mandated costs for cleaning up storm water pollution were likely to continue to escalate. How many staff positions does the proposed Caltrans budget provide for the management of storm water cleanup projects?
(a) An additional 158 personnel-years in staffing.
(b) An additional 57 personnel-years in staffing.
(c) No change is proposed in current staffing levels.
(d) A reduction of 71 personnel-years. (See Analysis A-51.)
5. The Legislature appropriated $2 million in 2002-03 to acquire a site for a new statewide DNA laboratory. What did the Department of Justice do with the money?
(a) It was used to offset cuts to the department’s operating budget. (See Analysis G-34.)
(b) It was used to remodel the Attorney General’s headquarters.
(c) Sites for three smaller regional DNA labs were acquired.
(d) The department does not know.
6. State law specifies that Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) customers are supposed to wait in line for help no more than half an hour. According to DMV, the average wait time for a walk-in customer visiting a field office in 2004-05 is expected to reach:
(a) 20 minutes.
(b) 40 minutes.
(c) 80 minutes. (See Analysis A-71.)
(d) 100 minutes.
7. The Valdivia remedial plan requires the state to provide all revoked parolees with:
(a) Substance abuse treatment services.
(b) A law enforcement "big brother/sister."
(c) An attorney. (See Analysis D-15.)
(d) An additional $200 in prerelease “gate money.”
8. More than $3 billion in bond funds was appropriated by the Legislature for resources projects in 2002-03 and 2003-04. How much of these funds have yet to be expended, according to an LAO estimate?
(a) $3 billion.
(b) $2 billion. (See Analysis B-39.)
(c) $450 million.
(d) $50 million.
9. Santa Ana’s school district has 50 percent more students who are targeted for Economic Impact Aid than does Oakland’s. As a result of a 25-year-old funding mechanism, how do the two school districts compare in terms of the amount of aid they will actually receive under the program?
(a) Santa Ana will get twice as much assistance as Oakland.
(b) Santa Ana will get slightly more money.
(c) Both cities will get the same amount of funding.
(d) Oakland will get $900,000 more than Santa Ana. (See Analysis E-81.)
10. The budget plan proposes to increase community college fees by 44 percent. With this increase, where would California's community college fees rank compared with other states?
(a) Lowest in the nation. (See Analysis E-199.)
(b) Highest in the nation.
(c) Roughly equal to the national average.
(d) 34th in the nation.
11. The state could save $400,000 a year by selling which of the following items?
(a) Exotic animals seized through default from private taxpayers.
(b) King Air, a Department of Forestry and Fire Protection plane that cannot be used to fight fires. (See Perspectives and Issues, page 231)
(c) Empty homes that were purchased and moved to clear the right-of-way for the Century Freeway.
(d) Concession rights to tours of the Governor’s Capitol office.
12. The California Department of Food and Agriculture has 1,655 positions. The department has created some of its permanent staff positions without obtaining the customary approval of either the Legislature or the Department of Finance. How many permanent staff were established in this way?
(a) 753.
(b) 499. (See Analysis F-105.)
(c) About 100.
(d) None.
13. The administration has proposed to repeal a recently enacted expansion of the Food Stamps Program and estimated that it will achieve $3.5 million in savings as a result in the budget year. What does the LAO estimate the fiscal effect of this change to be in 2004-05?
(a) Net savings of nearly $7 million to the state and $20 million in federal funds.
(b) Net savings of about $20 million to the state and $200 million in federal funds.
(c) Unknown fiscal savings or costs.
(d) A net cost to the state of about $1 million partly as a result of the loss of sales tax revenues from foregoing the receipt of $203 million in federal food coupons. (See Analysis C-281.)