Use either the form or links on the side to filter the list of publications. Browse other LAO products using the links at the bottom of the sidebar.
1,015 Publications Found
February 17, 2012 - As part of the 2012-13 budget, the Governor proposes to reduce the negotiated rates paid to Healthy Families Program (HFP) managed care plans and shift the children enrolled in HFP to Medi-Cal over a nine-month period. In this report, we provide background information on HFP and Medi-Cal and how they will be affected by implementation of federal health care reform. We discuss the potential merits of the Governor’s proposal, but raise several implementation issues and concerns. Specifically, the savings in the budget year may be less than the administration’s estimates, and the proposal will disrupt healthcare services for some HFP enrollees and may impact access to providers. Finally, we make recommendations that encourage the consideration of alternatives to the Governor’s plan.
February 17, 2012 - California’s system for providing health and social services to low-income seniors and persons with disabilities (SPDs) receiving Medicare and/or Medi-Cal is not coordinated. This lack of care coordination may lead to SPDs being unnecessarily hospitalized or placed in skilled nursing facilities rather than remaining in their own homes—resulting in poor outcomes for recipients and higher costs for the federal and state governments. As part of the 2012-13 budget, the Governor attempts to address this issue by proposing to integrate health and social services into managed care for most SPDs. In this report, we provide background information on the Medi-Cal and Medicare Programs and describe recent federal and state legislation to address fragmented care delivery. We discuss the potential merits of the Governor’s proposal, but raise several implementation issues and concerns. Finally, we make recommendations that encourage care coordination for SPDs by first completing and evaluating a currently authorized integrated care demonstration project in four counties rather than expanding the demonstration statewide as proposed by the Governor— an action that we think is premature. We also encourage the consideration of other ways to test the integration of benefits for SPDs.
February 17, 2012 - On February 1, 2012, all redevelopment agencies in California were dissolved and the process for unwinding their financial affairs began. Given the scope of these agencies' funds, assets, and financial obligations, the unwinding process will take time. This report reviews the history of RDAs, the events that led to their dissolution, and the process communities are using to resolve their financial obligations. The report recommends the Legislature amend the redevelopment dissolution legislation to address timing issues, clarify the treatment of pass–through payments, and address key concerns of redevelopment bond investors.
February 16, 2012 - This report examines the Governor's budget proposal regarding the use of revenues expected to be generated from the cap-and-trade auctions that the California Air Resources Board (ARB) will hold in 2012-13. These auctions are part of the state's plan to meet the goals of the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (commonly referred to as AB 32). In this report, we recommend that the Legislature first use the revenues in 2012-13 to offset General Fund costs of existing programs designed to mitigate GHG emissions. Since the Legislature will need to decide which General Fund costs to offset as part of the 2012-13 budget process, such decisions are best made this spring. In addition, the Legislature will need to begin the process of determining how effectively to allocate the remaining auction revenues on new or expanded programs.
February 15, 2012 - Over the past 16 years, the Legislature has enacted various measures that realigned to counties a significant share of responsibility for managing juvenile offenders. As part of his 2012-13 budget plan, the Governor proposes completing the realignment of juvenile justice by stopping new admissions of offenders to state Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) facilities on January 1, 2013. The Governor would provide counties with an unspecified level of funding to manage wards who would otherwise have been committed to DJJ after that date, as well as $10 million in planning grants in the current year. As discussed in this report, we believe the Governor’s proposal has merit on both policy and fiscal grounds, but that the Legislature could address various concerns with the administration’s plan. Specifically, we recommend developing a funding approach that promotes innovation and efficiency, establishing a transition plan for DJJ, providing state oversight and technical assistance through the newly created Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC), taking measures to reduce the number of juveniles tried in adult court, and requiring counties to house minors tried in adult court until age 18.
February 13, 2012 - Currently, three automation systems make up California’s Statewide Automated Welfare System (SAWS). These systems support some of the state’s major health and human services programs by providing eligibility determination, case maintenance, and reporting functions at the county level. Chapter 13, Statutes of 2011 (ABX1 16, Blumenfield) directs the administration to reduce this number to two by migrating, or moving, counties on an existing system to Los Angeles County’s new system. In this report, we identify several issues for the Legislature to consider as the administration pursues legislative goals for SAWS consolidation. We offer alternative procurement approaches for the migration that would encourage greater vendor competition. Finally, we make several recommendations to enhance legislative oversight and clarify legislative priorities for SAWS consolidation.
February 9, 2012 - This report analyzes the design of the cap-and-trade program as adopted by the California Air Resources Board (ARB). This new, complex program is part of the state's plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions statewide to 1990 levels by 2020—a goal set by the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (commonly referred to as AB 32). The report examines in detail the specific policy choices made by the ARB in the design of the program, some specific policy trade-offs inherent in those decisions, and options for program design changes that the Legislature may wish to make depending on its policy priorities.
February 8, 2012 - The Governor’s budget reduces funding for state financial aid programs by over $300 million. At the same time, it generally maintains or augments funding for the public colleges and universities in 2012-13; reduces budgetary controls on their spending; and commits to annual funding increases in subsequent years, contingent on their meeting undefined performance targets. Furthermore, higher education funding would be subject to “trigger cuts” if the Governor’s proposed tax increases are not approved by voters in November. This report makes a number of recommendations for legislative consideration, including alternative ways to reduce financial aid costs that would have better outcomes for students and the state. The report also urges caution in relaxing budgetary controls in higher education, and identifies alternative ways to structure trigger cuts in order to reduce uncertainty and disruption in higher education programs.
February 6, 2012 - This report analyzes the Governor's Proposition 98 budget package, including his basic budget plan and back-up plan as well as his multiyear plan to retire the "Wall of Debt" as it pertains to outstanding education obligations. The report makes a number of recommendations, including designating new revenues for paying down existing K-14 payment deferrals; replacing the education mandate system with a discretionary block grant; adopting some version of the Governor’s K-12 funding restructuring proposal, with general spending requirements that districts dedicate additional resources to their disadvantaged students; expanding community college categorical flexibility; canceling initiation of the transitional kindergarten program scheduled to begin in 2012-13; and prioritizing access to subsidized preschool for affected low-income children.
January 27, 2012 - As part of legislation authorizing seven local governments to participate in a pilot program regarding electronic filing of Statements of Economic Interests forms, the Legislature requested our office to evaluate the pilot program. This report presents our findings.
January 26, 2012 - The 1992 legislation that authorized charter schools in California created a funding model intended to provide charter schools with the same per-pupil operational funding as received by other schools in the same school district. The state subsequently modified this policy in 1998, enacting legislation specifying that “charter school operational funding shall be equal to the total funding that would be available to a similar school district serving a similar pupil population.” This policy remains in place. In this report, we assess whether operational funding received by charter schools and their school district peers is comparable. We (1) describe the funding models used for charter schools and school districts, (2) compare funding rates for the two groups, and (3) provide recommendations to simplify the funding system, maximize flexibility for both school types, and equalize funding rates for charter schools under the current funding system or under a fundamentally restructured system.
January 6, 2012 - Supplemental report language approved in the 2011 legislative session seeks the LAO's recommendations on the structure and duties of a statewide higher education coordinating body for California. The state currently has no coordinating body, following the Governor’s veto of funding for the California Postsecondary Education Commission in the 2011-12 budget. This report finds a need for robust and deliberate state oversight that enables policymakers to monitor how efficiently and effectively the postsecondary system is serving the state’s needs, and to make changes to improve its performance. This report includes both longer-term recommendations for creating a new state oversight structure as well as interim steps the Legislature could take to help guide the state’s postsecondary policy in the absence of a new agency. In the accompanying video, the LAO's Steve Boilard and Judy Heiman discuss the topic further.
January 3, 2012 - Over the past several years, the state has experienced waitlists in county jails to transfer those deemed incompetent to stand trial (IST) to state hospitals for treatment. In response to the waitlist, which averages between 200 and 300 individuals a month, the Department of Mental Health began a pilot program in San Bernardino County to treat ISTs in county jail instead of at a state hospital. This report finds that the pilot program has greater flexibility to hold down costs and has been able to restore ISTs to competency in a shorter amount of time than state hospitals. We find that if the pilot program is expanded, it has the potential to significantly reduce the waitlist, as well as reduce costs to the public sector.
December 5, 2011 - Legislation in 2009 authorized a pilot program whereby college and university campuses could voluntarily administer certain Cal Grant programs that are normally administered centrally by the Student Aid Commission (CSAC). The CSAC developed regulations for the pilot in time for the 2010-11 academic year. No campuses volunteered to participate, however, due to cumbersome program requirements. This report provides background on the existing delivery model for financial aid programs; describes recent proposals for alternative delivery models; and chronicles the development, implementation, and outcomes of the pilot program. The report concludes with our recommendation, drawing on numerous studies over the last two decades, to decentralize Cal Grants through a process that includes a planning period but no pilot phase.
November 8, 2011 - The Governor’s 12-point pension and retiree health plan would result in bold changes for California’s public employee retirement programs. His proposals would shift more of the financial risk for pensions—now borne largely by public employers—to employees and retirees and would, in so doing, substantially ameliorate a key area of long-term financial risk for California governments. Despite the proposal’s strengths, it leaves many questions unanswered, such as how his hybrid plan and retirement age proposals would work and how the state should cope with large unfunded liabilities already affecting the California State Teachers’ Retirement System, the University of California Retirement Plan, and the health benefit program for state and California State University retirees. The Governor’s proposal to increase many current public employees’ pension contributions also raises significant legal and practical issues.