Fiscal Reform

Fred Keeley: Taking reform debate to the people
150 150 John Guenther

As the legislature works to reach agreement on a budget and organizations across the state push for reforms designed to make government work more effectively, California Forward is taking the discussion to the people in a major way.

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Redistricting and the budget
150 150 Gina Baleria

It’s a big week, both for the California Citizens Redistricting Commission and the state’s budget negotiations. On Friday, the first round of newly drawn political maps will be released. And a few days later on June 15, lawmakers must have a budget plan passed.

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PPIC Poll shows support for state-local restructuring
150 150 PPIC

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.

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Californians brainstorm state’s political issues
150 150 Lenny Mendonca & David Davenport

It’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.

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First 5 speaks out against “band-aid” budgeting
150 150 Evelyn V. Martinez

Gov. 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

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New revenue does not dampen Gov’s call for tax extensions in May revise
150 150 Gina Baleria

An 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.

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What the Framework poll results tell us
150 150 Richard Raya

Over 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.

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Senate Budget Committee Approves Bills Requiring Performance-Based, Multi-Year Budgeting
150 150 John Guenther

Two 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.

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Business groups call for workout plan to restart budget negotiations
150 150 John Guenther

Business 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.

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