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LAO Report

Report

Overview of May Revision Proposals For Higher Education

May 16, 2016 - Notable new higher education proposals in the May Revision include a $75 million increase for community college general purpose apportionments, a $26 million increase for two initiatives to improve California State University (CSU) graduation rates, and a $4 million increase to expand the University of California’s (UC’s) online A-G course offerings. We recommend adopting the proposal for community college apportionments in order to provide colleges with more flexible funding. We recommend rejecting the Governor’s proposals for UC and CSU, largely due to insufficient information about why the funding increases are needed. In this report, we also assess and make recommendations on various other higher education May Revision proposals.


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Governor’s May Revision: Budget Trailer Bill Changes to the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act

May 16, 2016 - This document summarizes the major changes to the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act (MMRSA) included in the administration’s May Revision budget trailer legislation. It also raises several issues for the Legislature to consider as it reviews the MMRSA budget trailer legislation.


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Governor’s May Revision: Expansion of Inmate Rehabilitation Programs

May 16, 2016 - The Governor’s May Revision proposes a $24.5 million General Fund augmentation for various inmate rehabilitation programs. The proposed augmentation would increase to $44.4 million in 2017-18 and decline to $37.1 million in 2018-19. While we recommend approving additional funding for those programs that appear to be effective, we recommend rejecting funding for proposals for which there is not clear evidence of effectiveness and those that lack sufficient detail.


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The 2016-17 Budget: Analysis of the Proposition 98 May Revision Budget Package

May 16, 2016 - In this brief, we analyze the Governor’s Proposition 98 May Revision budget package. In the first section, we focus on changes in the overall Proposition 98 funding level under the May Revision compared to the Governor’s January budget. In the next three sections, we describe and assess the major changes in specific Proposition 98 proposals for K-12 education, early education, and the California Community Colleges (CCC), respectively.


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2016-17 Capital Outlay Support Budget Request

May 15, 2016 - The Governor’s May Revision requests a total of 10,389 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff resources and about $1.9 billion for the Capital Outlay Support program at Caltrans in 2016-17. This includes a proposed increase of 877 FTEs and $156 million to support projects that would be funded from the estimated increase in transportation funding resulting from the Governor’s proposed funding package. While the Legislature has been considering various proposals to increase funding for transportation projects (including the package proposed by the Governor) as part of a special legislative session, it has not adopted any such proposals at this time. Thus, we find it is premature to approve additional COS resources as proposed by the Governor until a specific transportation funding proposal is adopted.


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Options for Modifying the State Child Care Tax Credit

April 7, 2016 - The Child and Dependent Care Expenses Credit (“child care tax credit” or “credit”) is a provision of the state income tax code that allows filers with income below $100,000 to reduce their tax liability by a percentage of their eligible child care expenses. The 2015–16 Budget Act required our office to prepare a report providing options to extend the credit to low– and middle–income families not currently receiving child care subsidies. This report provides an analysis of the costs, benefits, and trade–offs associated with these options.


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A Required Report on Student Fee Transparency and Accountability

April 6, 2016 -

Chapter 620 of 2012 (AB 970, Fong) requires the University of California (UC) and the California State University (CSU) to fulfill the following three requirements related to systemwide tuition and fee increases:

  • Tuition and Fee Policies. The legislation requires UC and CSU to develop a list of factors to consider when recommending an increase in mandatory systemwide tuition and fees for resident students.
  • Notification and Consultation Procedures. The legislation requires UC and CSU to follow prescribed public notice and student consultation procedures before adopting an increase.
  • Reporting Provisions. The legislation requires UC and CSU to provide the Legislature with annual reports on tuition and fees, financial aid, and the total cost of attendance. In addition, the legislation requires our office to report on UC’s and CSU’s compliance with Chapter 620.

As detailed below, our review found UC was not in compliance with several provisions of Chapter 620. Though the legislation deems its provisions to be required for UC, UC believes it is not legally obligated to comply because of its constitutional autonomy. We found CSU complied with all Chapter 620 provisions except for one reporting requirement.


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Review of High-Speed Rail Draft 2016 Business Plan

March 17, 2016 - On February 18, 2016, the California High–Speed Rail Authority (HSRA) released a draft of its 2016 business plan, as required by state law. The plan provides updated information on the project and proposes changes to the project’s construction plan. In this report, we (1) provide background information on the planned high–speed rail system, (2) describe the major changes proposed in the draft 2016 business plan to the project, and (3) identify issues for legislative consideration.


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The 2016-17 Budget: Assessing the Governor’s Zero-Textbook-Cost Proposal

March 14, 2016 - This brief is intended to assist the Legislature in reviewing the Governor’s proposal for zero-textbook-cost degrees. We provide background on open educational resources (OER), describe California efforts to encourage their use, and highlight zero–textbook–cost degree initiatives currently underway in other states. We then describe the Governor’s proposal and provide our associated assessment and recommendations.


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The 2016-17 Budget: Evaluating FI$Cal

March 10, 2016 - In this report, we describe the FI$Cal Project, provide an update on the project’s status, and describe the events that triggered the development of a sixth special project report (SPR 6). We also describe the Governor’s 2016–17 budget proposals to: (1) allow the project to implement the changes proposed in SPR 6 and (2) establish a new state department to maintain and operate the FI$Cal System. Finally, we make associated findings and recommendations.


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The 2016-17 Budget: Analysis of the Department of Developmental Services Budget

March 4, 2016 - The Governor’s 2016-17 budget proposes $3.8 billion from the General Fund for Department of Developmental Services (DDS) programs—a 7.5 percent increase over 2015-16 estimated expenditures. This report focuses on the Governor's major policy-driven spending augmentations in the community services program. This report also summarizes legislation enacted as part of the recent special session that provides significant additional funding to the community services program and considers the Governor’s January proposals in this context.


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The 2016-17 Budget: Higher Education Analysis

February 26, 2016 - In this report, we provide background on three key areas of higher education in California: enrollment, tuition and financial aid, and institutional performance. We then analyze specific budget proposals for the University of California, California State University, California Community Colleges, Hastings College of the Law, and California Student Aid Commission, making corresponding recommendations for the Legislature's consideration.


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The 2016-17 Budget: Analysis of Child Care and Preschool Proposals

February 24, 2016 - In this report, we analyze the Governor’s child care and preschool proposals. The report includes (1) a high-level overview of the proposed child care and preschool budget, and (2) an assessment of the Governor's proposals to restructure California's child care and preschool programs. At the end of the report, we provide a summary of our recommendations.


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The 2016-17 Budget: The Governor’s Proposition 2 Debt Proposal

February 24, 2016 - In this report, we analyze the administration’s proposal for meeting Proposition 2 debt payment requirements in 2016-17 and beyond. We find the administration’s proposal focuses on paying down low-interest debts that benefit schools and potentially benefit special fund fee payers. We suggest an alternative approach that could save taxpayers billions of dollars more over the long run. It would also allow the state to begin addressing more of its retirement liabilities sooner. Our approach focuses on high-interest debts that the state is otherwise not addressing. Specifically, we suggest the Legislature prioritize: (1) the state’s pension system for judges and (2) retiree health benefits for state and California State University employees.


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The 2016-17 Budget: Transportation Proposals

February 23, 2016 - The Governor’s budget provides a total of $17 billion from various fund sources for all departments and programs under the California State Transportation Agency in 2016–17. This is an increase of $664 million, or 4 percent, over the estimated current–year expenditures. In this report, we assess the Governor’s budget proposals in the transportation area and summarize our major findings and recommendations.