California Forward
A PPIC poll released this week shows that many Californians do want to see a restructuring of state and local governments, with the hope that it would improve transparency, accountability, flexibility, and performance.
read moreIt’s hardly news that Californians are frustrated with politics as usual. The budget is billions of dollars out of balance and invariably comes together late, with duct tape and deferral of the real problems. Sixty percent of Californians say the state is headed in the wrong direction.
read moreGov. Jerry Brown claims to be a strong proponent of realigning state government to give counties more control. However, his actions don’t always support his words
read moreAn additional $6.6 billion is expected to make it into CA coffers through fiscal year 2012, but Governor Brown says tax extensions are still necessary to close the remaining $9.6 billion gap.
read moreOver the last few weeks, we asked Californians to weigh in on the latest summary of the Smart Government Framework, an outline course of action to restructure the relationship between state and local governments to produce better results.
read moreTwo bills that could vastly improve the state’s budgeting process and lead to a more stable fiscal landscape have passed unanimously out of a Senate committee and are on their way to the full floor. SB 14 would require budgeting based on the performance, and SB 15 would require multi-year, long-term budgeting and forecasting.
read moreBusiness organizations from across the state sent an open letter Wednesday to the Governor and legislature, urging them to adopt a five-point financial workout plan that is consistent with the principles put forth by CA Fwd.
read more‘I read the cover story in The Economist this week about what the reporter (Andreas Kluth) believes is a dysfunctional government in California. He essentially argues that there’s too much democracy, that the initiative process has created unwieldy ballot box budgeting and that has paralyzed the state. I thought it was very simplistic.
read moreCalifornia Special District recently interviewed CA Fwd Executive Director Jim Mayer about how CA Fwd believes governance in California should be restructured, what smart government requires, and how Governor Jerry Brown’s budget proposal could help work toward all of this.
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