February 24, 2017

Assesses the Governor’s budget proposals for Department of Developmental Services (DDS); also describes general shifts in both policy and practice in the field of developmental services, detailing relevant state and federal policies and issues for the Legislature to consider.

February 17, 2017

Provides background information on the state’s major transportation programs and funding sources, describes the Governor’s proposed 2017‑18 transportation package including how the increased funding would be allocated, and provides a road map to assist the Legislature in making certain key decisions it will face in developing a transportation package.

February 17, 2017

Summarizes the major impacts that the ACA has had in California, explores what the ACA’s repeal could mean for the state, and assesses a collection of policy alternatives to the ACA that the new federal administration and Congress are currently considering.

February 17, 2017

Describes the new project approval process; discusses the potential benefits, trade‑offs, and implications of the new process; and identifies the key legislative decision points within the new approval process as well as issues for legislative consideration.

February 16, 2017

Analyzes the Governor's higher education budget proposals, with a summary list of recommendations.

February 15, 2017

Assesses many of the Governor’s budget proposals in the resources and environmental protection areas and recommends various changes, with a summary list of recommendations.

February 14, 2017

Provides background information on the Medical Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MCRSA), Proposition 64, and the funding provided in 2016‑17 to begin implementation of MCRSA; summarizes the Governor’s 2017‑18 budget proposals for four regulatory agencies with responsibility over cannabis; finally, assesses the Governor’s proposals and provides recommendations to the Legislature.

February 13, 2017

Provides background on California’s GHG policies and the role of cap‑and‑trade; also provides comments and recommendations related to three critical questions:

• Should cap‑and‑trade be authorized beyond 2020?
• Is a two‑thirds vote needed?
• How should the Legislature use cap‑and‑trade revenue?

February 9, 2017

An analysis of the Governor’s overall 2017-18 Proposition 98 budget package as well as his specific spending proposals for K‑12 education, including a summary of our recommendations.

February 6, 2017

Provides background on COEs’ governance and mission; discusses COE funding, including an analysis of how COEs are using their LCFF funds; assesses COEs’ roles in the LCFF era; and makes recommendations for re‑envisioning COEs moving forward.

February 3, 2017

We provide a brief description of California's regulatory process, the potential value of regulatory analysis, and the recent changes made by SB 617. Although there have been some improvements in recent years, we identify some significant limitations that still remain and provide recommendations that are aimed at addressing them.

January 31, 2017

Provides background information on higher education costs and financial aid in California, and examines various features of a potential new debt free college program.

January 19, 2017

Chapter 22 of 2015 (SB 81, Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review) requires our office to assess whether the state should construct new University of California (UC) or California State University (CSU) campuses, taking a statewide perspective for UC and a regional perspective for CSU. In making our assessment, the legislation requires our office to consider a variety factors, including enrollment demand and capacity.

January 18, 2017

Approved by the voters in 1988, Proposition 98 established certain formulas for calculating a minimum annual funding level for K-14 education. The state commonly refers to this level as the minimum guarantee. This report reviews the state's more-than-quarter-century experience with Proposition 98.

January 17, 2017

Describes the demographics of California’s veterans and provides a high-level overview of veterans services provided in the state’s veterans homes and services provided in the community; reviews and provides findings regarding the federally and state-funded services available to veterans related to long-term care, transitional housing, mental and behavioral health, and employment assistance; finally, highlights issues for legislative consideration and offers options to improve service delivery within the veterans homes.

January 12, 2017

Provides an overview of California’s state park system; discusses findings related to how state parks set and collect fees from park users, including some of the inherent policy trade-offs with different choices; and offers recommendations aimed at improving consistency, transparency, and oversight of state park user fees.

January 5, 2017

Provides background on nursing education programs; describes CSU’s two pilot Doctor of Nursing Practice programs; presents our findings on program implementation; and then assesses the program and makes a recommendation regarding its extension.

January 4, 2017

In this report, we analyze intergenerational income mobility in California—the extent to which children attain higher (or lower) incomes than their parents. We find that California children have somewhat higher rates of income mobility than their peers in other states. The report’s findings suggest this is the result of their parents’ and their own characteristics, not because growing up in California results in more mobility.

Three short videos highlight some of the concepts and findings in the report.

December 14, 2016

Provides background on Sacramento state office buildings, summarizing the actions taken in the 2016-17 budget process; assesses the administration’s regional strategy for state office buildings in the Sacramento area; and provides recommendations to assist the Legislature as it faces key decision points related to the administration’s strategy.

December 12, 2016

Four animated videos covering key aspects of special education in California.

November 28, 2016

Presents the results of our projections to inform the Legislature and stakeholders about levels of disability and the potential need for long–term supports and services (LTSS) among California’s seniors over the next several decades.

A companion video and infographic highlight key findings from the report.

November 16, 2016

With this year’s California's Fiscal Outlook, we include an infographic that illustrates the main themes of the report. The infographic displays our assessment of the California state budget in 2017-18, as well as two possible future scenarios for the economy and budget.

November 10, 2016

Los Angeles is competing to host the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Both the state and the City of Los Angeles are already planning in case the Games return to Southern California. This report notes issues that the state may need to consider as planning for the Games proceeds.

Also see our short video highlighting this report.

October 5, 2016

With this year's California Spending Plan, we include an interactive graphic that helps the reader visualize how the state budget spent $167 billion in total state revenues.

September 29, 2016

In this legislatively required report we evaluate the likely windfall benefits, indirect and induced economic effects, opportunity costs, and other changes in the state's economy of this tax credit program.

Also see these four short videos that highlight findings from this report.

September 27, 2016

Assesses the effectiveness of the California National Guard Education Assistance Award program and provides recommendations for the Legislature to consider on potentially reauthorizing the program.

September 22, 2016

In this report, we provide background on the Student Success and Support Program, student equity, and other student success programs of the California Community Colleges (CCC). We consider the effects of recent actions taken by the CCC Board of Governors, discuss implementation of student success and equity programs, assessing implementation to date, and offer recommendations for legislative consideration.

September 21, 2016

A comprehensive review of Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) education in California, describing the state’s current approach to DHH education, identifying several major shortcomings with this approach, and concluding by making recommendations to address the shortcomings.

August 18, 2016

Provides background about the state’s workforce programs and their data reporting requirements and makes recommendations to improve the alignment, integration, and accessibility of workforce data to provide more useful information to help guide state policy and funding decisions.