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May 5, 2015 - Oversight of the quality of care provided by Medi-Cal Managed Care (MMC) plans is an increasingly important issue for the Legislature to examine, as MMC enrollment and the geographic reach of MMC have grown significantly over the past decade. In this report, we analyze the quality of MMC plans and current DHCS efforts to improve MMC plan quality, and consider additional steps and alternative approaches, such as P4P, the state could take to monitor plans and stimulate quality improvement in MMC.
April 29, 2015 - The Beverage Container Recycling Program has operated with an annual structural deficit averaging about $90 million since 2008-09 and is currently forecast to run an average deficit of almost $60 million from 2014-15 to 2017-18, absent any changes to reduce expenditures or increase revenues. In this report, we make several recommendations that could eliminate the structural deficit and improve overall program effectiveness. Specifically, we recommend (1) requiring beverage manufacturers to pay for the full cost of recycling their containers, (2) evaluating program activities to determine how cost-effective they are at achieving recycling and litter reduction goals, (3) giving recyclers more flexibility in where they locate and piloting a new recycler payment structure in order to improve convenience for consumers, and (4) adjusting the administrative payments to program participants to reflect their actual costs.
April 23, 2015 - Presented to: Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 5 On Corrections, Public Safety and the Judiciary
April 23, 2015 - Presented to Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 1 on Education
April 22, 2015 - California imposes excise taxes on cigarettes and on other tobacco products such as cigars and chewing tobacco. The state also licenses tobacco sellers and distributors. Recently, there has been considerable legislative interest in the cost of these programs, which are administered by the State Board of Equalization (BOE). The Legislature faces two key decisions: (1) how to pay for BOE’s cigarette and tobacco programs, and (2) how much to spend on them. This report recommends that the state use excise tax revenue to pay for excise tax administration but not for the tobacco licensing program. To address the imbalance between the licensing program’s costs and revenue, we further recommend the Legislature (1) temporarily increase fees on tobacco retailers, wholesalers, and distributors, and (2) direct BOE and the California Department of Justice to explore options to reduce the program’s costs by promoting electronic filing of schedules and tax returns.
April 21, 2015 - Presented to Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 2 on Education Finance
April 17, 2015 - Presented to: California Student Aid Commission
April 16, 2015 - Presented to Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 2 on Resources, Environmental Protection, Energy and Transportation
April 16, 2015 - Presented to: Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 1 on Education Hon. Marty Block, Chair Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 3 on Health and Human Services Hon. Holly Mitchell, Chair
April 16, 2015 - The state authorizes six types of alternative schools to provide educational options for students who could benefit from an environment different from their traditional schools or who cannot stay at traditional schools because of behavioral issues. These schools often are designed as short-term interventions to get these students back on track to graduate.
Currently, the state does not have sufficient information to determine how well alternative schools are educating students. We recommend the state collect better performance data for alternative schools and then use this information to set performance expectations, monitor their progress toward meeting those expectations, and support underperforming schools.
(5/13/15: Correction made to Figure 1 regarding number of opportunity and juvenile court schools.)
April 16, 2015 - Presented to Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 1 on Education and Subcommittee No. 3 on Health and Human Services
April 14, 2015 - Presented to: Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 1 on Health and Human Services Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 2 on Education Finance
April 8, 2015 - Presented to: Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 2 on Education Finance
April 7, 2015 - This report provides a preview of possible budgetary outcomes that the state’s elected leaders may face while finalizing the 2015–16 budget package in May and June. We do not produce a new revenue or budget outlook in this report. Rather, we consider the key factors that will affect May estimates. In general, this report’s scenarios discuss revenues and spending relative to the administration’s January 2015 budget estimates.
March 27, 2015 - This report provides background regarding CalTech’s IT project responsibilities, discusses common project challenges, describes how projects are currently managed in the state, comments on the administration’s plan to centralize project management, and makes recommendations on how the Legislature should proceed with implementing a centralized Project Management Office in California.