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4,788 Publications Found
February 20, 2008 - The Governor’s budget proposes to delete the June 2008 and 2009 state statutory COLAs and pass-through the federal COLAs. The Governor estimates that the deletion of these COLAs will result in savings of $23.3 million in 2007-08, and $300.3 million in 2008-09. Based on more recent data, we estimate savings in 2008-09 will increase by $5.3 million to a total of $305.6 million in the budget year. As part of the LAO budget alternative, we recommend reducing grants for couples to 125 percent of the federal poverty level.
February 20, 2008 - The budget proposes to reduce CWS county allocations, resulting in General Fund savings of $83.7 million in 2008-09. We describe the potential impact of this proposed reduction on social worker caseloads and possible subsequent policy consequences resulting from fewer resources. We provide three alternatives to the Governor’s proposal that more narrowly target the reductions in CWS expenditures.
February 20, 2008 - Pre-assistance programs focusing on preparing recipients to enter the labor force within four months and a community service requirement for adults who have received five years of assistance are two policies which would increase participation with less budgetary savings than the Governor. We discuss these alternatives, estimate their impacts, and present an alternative package of CalWORKs reforms which meet the anticipated work participation shortfall.
February 20, 2008 - In order to increase work participation and achieve budgetary savings, the Governor proposes a series policy changes for the CalWORKs program. These are (1) a graduated full-family sanction that increases to 100 percent of the grant after one year in sanction status, (2) a five-year time limit on children whose parents cannot meet federal work participation requirements, (3) a nutritional supplement for working poor families, and (4) a five-year time limit for other child-only cases. We review the Governor’s proposals and comment on them.
February 20, 2008 - We recommend that $6 million proposed for the Governor’s Hydrogen Highway initiative be rejected, because sufficient funding remains available from prior appropriations in light of the relatively little program progress to date. We also find that the Legislature is in a position to set its own hydrogen policy priorities before approving additional funding.
February 20, 2008 - We recommend the enactment of legislation to create a fee on timber operators to fully fund the review and enforcement of timber harvest plans by several state agencies, thereby creating General Fund savings of $21.2 million. Our recommendation is based on the application of the "beneficiary pays" funding principle.
February 20, 2008 - We recommend applying the "polluter pays" funding principle more fully to the State Water Resources Control Board’s core water quality and water rights programs by (1) increasing existing fees to fully cover regulatory program costs, and (2) enacting a new broad-based fee to fully fund water quality management programs. Adopting our recommendations would create General Fund savings of $30.6 million.
February 20, 2008 - The Governor’s proposed surcharge on commercial and residential insurance policies statewide to partially pay for wildland firefighting should be rejected in favor of a fee on property owners in "state responsibility areas" because these individuals directly benefit from the state’s firefighting services.
February 20, 2008 - We recommend the enactment of legislation to establish a fee to cover the department’s flood management expenditures that provide a direct benefit to property owners in flood zones statewide and those protected by the state Central Valley flood control system, thereby creating General Fund savings of about $40 million.
February 20, 2008 - Contrary to legislative direction, the Governor has failed to identify a stable, long-term source of funding in the budget for implementation of "AB 32"--climate change legislation enacted in 2006. Instead, the Governor has relied on more borrowing from unrelated special funds to pay for a majority of the program. While not taking issue with the merits of the activities proposed for funding, we recommend that the Legislature defer action on a majority of the budget proposal until the administration submits a funding plan that is responsive to legislative direction.
February 20, 2008 - Various Delta-related planning efforts, including Delta Vision, have made recommendations that, if adopted, will fundamentally change the future approach of the CALFED Bay-Delta Program. We recommend denial of some CALFED budget proposals on the basis that, contrary to recommendations of the planning efforts, they either lack clear objectives and funding priorities, do not apply the beneficiary pays funding principle, or do not meet the information needs of policy makers.
February 20, 2008 - The Governor’s proposed budget for the California Community Colleges would fund 1 percent enrollment growth and make across-the-board reductions to categorical programs. We offer an alternative to the Governor’s proposal that includes funding for 1.7 percent growth and no across-the-board reductions. Our proposal includes more total resources for CCC by augmenting student fee revenue, which would supplement Proposition 98 support. In addition, our alternative plan increases fiscal and program flexibility for districts to meet local needs by consolidating several categorical programs into two block grants.
February 20, 2008 - As a result of a recent State Supreme Court decision, the higher education segments and other state agencies may need to reconsider how their growth plans affect surrounding communities and whether they should provide payments to local agencies for infrastructure improvements. We provide an overview of the higher education segments’ environmental review process, discuss the Court’s decision and its implications, and offer our recommendations to the Legislature on how to address the local impacts of campus expansion. review infrastructure
February 20, 2008 - We recommend an alternative to the Governor’s proposal that avoids making unallocated reductions and adheres to the State Master Plan for Higher Education. Our alternative would fund anticipated enrollment growth at the three segments. It would also modestly increase the share of education cost paid by students, while increasing financial aid to cover these higher costs for financially needy students.