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4,639 Publications Found
February 3, 2009 - The Governor’s budget proposes $16.5 billion in expenditures (mostly from special funds) for transportation programs in 2009‑10. This is a net decrease of $3 billion, or about 16 percent, below the estimated current-year expenditure level. In this report we examine ways the Legislature can reduce the impact of the Governor’s transportation funding proposals. We also explain how a number of major funding sources for transportation are unstable, and describe ramifications of this situation for transportation programs. We offer several recommendations to the Legislature to help stabilize funding for these purposes. The specific actions the Legislature can take include more clearly setting funding priorities, providing more funding from ongoing sources by raising the per gallon tax on gasoline and diesel, and exploring new ways of funding transportation programs, such as charging a mileage-based fee to generate revenues for transportation. In addition, we look at how the state is implementing Proposition 1B bond programs for transportation and offer recommendations to improve program accountability. We also examine the Governor's economic stimulus proposals for transportation and recommend that the Legislature consider an alternative to achieve greater stimulus effect.
February 3, 2009 - The Governor’s budget proposes only one significant budget-balancing solution in the resources and environmental protection areas—$350 million of loans from various special funds to the General Fund. We offer a number of recommendations for achieving General Fund savings beyond the Governor's proposal, including shifting funding for various programs from the General Fund to new or increased fees. Fees are an appropriate funding source in these cases, in our view, because the state is either providing a service directly to beneficiaries or administering a pollution control program that should be funded on a “polluter pays” basis. Our fee proposals relate to: (1) wildland fire protection, (2) fish and game regulation, (3) water quality regulation, and (4) scientific activities of the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment that support regulatory programs. We also recommend program reductions and/or expenditure deferrals in CalFire and the CALFED Bay-Delta Program to create additional General Fund savings. In addition, we assess the administration’s approach in evaluating alternatives to the way water is currently conveyed through the Delta as a key component of solving Delta water problems. We find that the analysis being conducted by the administration is too narrow to fully inform the Legislature of the costs, benefits, risks, and trade-offs of the various conveyance alternatives.
February 3, 2009 - The Governor’s budget reflects major reductions to school spending in 2008-09 and 2009-10. In this report, we outline ways for the Legislature to achieve budget-ary savings while minimizing the adverse effects on core educational programs. In contrast to the Governor’s approach of cutting K-12 revenue limits (districts’ most flexible source of funding), we recommend that the Legislature make targeted spending reductions. We develop a three-tiered approach to making these reduc-tions, first identifying cuts that would have the least programmatic effect. To help districts respond to these reductions, the administration proposes to permanently suspend most categorical program requirements and all but three K-14 mandates. In contrast, we recommend that the Legislature adopt a more strategic approach that provides districts with additional categorical program flexibility but also simpli-fies, streamlines, and improves the existing system. We also recommend undertak-ing substantive mandate reform.
January 30, 2009 - In this report, we identify issues and present recommendations related to the Judicial and Criminal Justice systems. These include presenting an alternative package of correctional population proposals that attempts to provide a better balance between the need to achieve budgetary savings and the goal of protecting public safety. Our alternative essentially builds upon the Governor’s proposals by modifying the direct discharge proposal and replacing it with earned discharge from parole. We also identify several issues regarding the federal court–appointed Receiver’s health care construction program that merit legislative consideration. For example, we note that the need for the 10,000 new health care beds proposed by the Receiver remains uncertain. In addition, the costs identified by the Receiver to operate the proposed new health care facilities would be significant—exceeding $1 billion annually upon full implementation.
January 30, 2009 - In this report, we identify issues and present recommendations related to the General Government portion of the budget. These include our belief that employee compensation reductions proposed by the Governor are necessary due to the magnitude of the budget problem. Nevertheless, we observe that the administration’s plans—especially savings from the furlough-will be difficult to achieve. We also note that due to the sagging economy and falling energy prices in recent months, our forecast for inflation is much lower than that used in the Governor's budget plan. Therefore we recommend the Legislature reject the price increase and direct departments to absorb any increases in operating expenses.
January 29, 2009 - Director of Higher Education, Steve Boilard, discusses the fifth report in the LAO’s 2009-10 Budget Analysis Series.
January 29, 2009 - The Governor’s budget proposal includes $11.5 billion in General Fund support as well as $5.7 billion in other core funding for higher education in 2009-10. The proposed budget would increase university fees by almost $300 million while it would reduce state financial aid programs by $88 million. It also could reduce higher education enrollment by tens of thousands of students. We offer alternatives that would increase funding for state financial aid programs, increase enrollment targets well above the Governor's levels, and better account for student fee revenue.
January 27, 2009 - Legislative Analyst Director of Criminal Justice, Anthony Simbol, discusses the fourth report in the LAO’s 2009-10 Budget Analysis Series, titled Criminal Justice Realignment
January 27, 2009 - The Governor’s 2009-10 budget plan contains a proposal to shift some funding for some criminal justice programs from the state to the local level. We recommend that the Legislature expand upon this concept, and implement a policy-driven realignment of nearly $1.4 billion of state responsibilities to counties along with resources to pay for them. In particular, we propose that the state shift to counties programs for juvenile offenders and adults convicted of drug possession crimes. Under our realignment concept, counties would have broad authority to manage juvenile and drug–addicted adult offenders programs to achieve success. We recommend that the Legislature finance this criminal justice realignment by increasing the vehicle license fee (VLF) rate to 1 percent (which results in a revenue gain of $1.1 billion) and redirecting $359 million of existing VLF revenues. Under this financing approach, realignment would serve as a nearly $1.4 billion ongoing General Fund budget solution.
January 22, 2009 - Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor's presentation to the Commission on the 21st Century Economy.
January 22, 2009 - Legislative Analyst Director of Social Services, Todd Bland, discusses the third report in the LAO’s 2009-10 Budget Analysis Series.
January 22, 2009 - At a cost of approximately $10.2 billion in 2008-09, California’s major social services provide a wide array of benefits to its citizens. The Governor proposes $3 billion in budget reductions for social services programs in 2009-10, mostly in grant payments to the aged, blind and disabled or low-income families. We present alternative approaches to reducing costs which tend to have less savings and less adverse impacts on recipients and clients. We also present approaches to drawing down more federal funds pursuant to recently enacted federal legislation.
January 14, 2009 - Deputy Legislative Analyst Michael Cohen and Principal Fiscal and Policy Analyst Jason Dickerson the LAO report, California’s Cash Flow Crisis—the second in the LAO’s 2009-10 Budget Analysis Series.
January 14, 2009 - Balancing the budget—by increasing state revenues and decreasing expenditures—is the most important way that the Legislature can shorten the duration and severity of the state’s cash flow crisis. Absent prompt action to begin addressing the state’s colossal budget gap and other measures discussed in this report specifically to help the state’s cash flows, state operations and payments will have to be delayed more and more over time. In the event that the Legislature and the Governor are unable to reach agreement to balance the budget by the summer of 2009, major categories of services and payments funded by the state may grind to a halt. This could seriously erode the confidence of the public—and investors—in our state government. To avoid this, it is urgent that the Legislature and the Governor act immediately to address the budgetary and cash crises that have put the state on the edge of fiscal disaster.
January 8, 2009 - Mac Taylor's press conference in which he discusses the LAO's Overview of the 2009-10 Governor's Budget