While public attention has focused in recent years on startling changes in California’s prison system, the transformation of the youth correctional system has been even more dramatic.
California, which just a few years ago had 11 state juvenile prisons, now has three. The number of youth offenders sent to state lockups has dropped by 90
It could be the calm before the storm.
On Gov. Brown’s desk is a hard-fought plan to dismantle California’s enterprise zones, shift key authority over $700 million in business tax and other incentives to the state and boost the pay of new workers. The governor, joined by most Democrats and a handful of Republicans, pushed
Steve Blank, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur who was viewed as a strong environmental voice on the California Coastal Commission, has resigned his position, saying that the commission’s role was weakened by the death of long-time executive director Peter Douglas, and other factors.
Blank, who was appointed in 2007 by former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and later
Just days after the Legislature and the administration concluded months of budget battles, a routine bill sat on Gov. Brown’s desk awaiting his routine signature.
But the obscure, budget-linked bill – called a “trailer” because it is hooked to the state budget – was anything but routine.
It contained five paragraphs of startling language that
With Gov. Brown leading the charge, California’s 400 redevelopment agencies were abolished, but in the Capitol the locals’ quest for money to pay for critical projects goes on – and on.
For the second time in as many years, major legislation to boost the authority and reach of entities called infrastructure Financing Districts, or
Last week, the California judiciary went on a rollercoaster ride.
The final budget – it’s been approved by the Legislature and awaits Gov. Brown’s signature — included some relief for a court system that has taken continuous cuts over the last five years. But there were indications that the money is too little, too
After years of nothing but budget cuts and bad news, California’s public schools are poised for a comeback.
Our economy is improving, which has stabilized county and state revenues for the first time in nearly a decade. And in November, California voters agreed to temporarily increase taxes to support education. Though our education system
Tucked away in the state budget package on Gov. Brown’s desk is a provision that makes it easier for local governments to avoid complying with Public Records Act requests.
“The bill essentially makes a portion of the Public Records Act optional for local governments – that’s the long and short of it,” said Phillip
Gov. Brown said his plan to take $500 million from California’s cap-and-trade auction funds — money that was intended to directly further efforts to fight greenhouse gas emissions — is a “reasonable accommodation” aided in part by voters’ approval last year of a measure to raise corporate taxes.
“We had Proposition 39 funding for
In the upper levels of California government, Mac Taylor is indeed a rarity – he’s nonpartisan.
As the Legislative Analyst – he’s only the fifth one since the office was created 72 years ago – Taylor is the taxpayers’ watchdog over budget and ballot measures and their potential costs. He is the Legislature’s nonpartisan