An abstract rendering of multi-faceted California. (Flip Bjorkman)While most indicators signal an economic upswing in California, the reality facing many residents of the Golden State is simple: On the ground, the recovery is still sluggish. Nowhere is that more apparent than in a newly developed database that includes detailed economic information on each of California’s 120 legislative districts and 58 counties.
California’s Capitol is ruled by a handful of powerful special interests, according to more than two-thirds of those surveyed by the Public Policy Institute of California. PPIC’s survey of likely voters also noted that despite a recent string of scandals that have tarnished the Senate, the public’s perception of lawmakers has remained constant.
The reason, Reed says, is that the Attorney General used the word “eliminate” in describing his proposal to end the vested benefit rights of public employees. “This is the only recourse we have to correct something that is inaccurate and misleading,” said Reed of the Attorney General’s description of his measure. But Reed has a problem: He and his allies used the same word he’s criticizing the Attorney General for using – “eliminate” – when detailing his ballot measure.
California is in the forefront of the nation’s new health care insurance reforms and is following its own drummer, such as when it decided not to go along with the president’s call to give certain policyholders a year-long delay from being kicked off dubious health insurance plans. But the political forces surrounding the Affordable Care Act in California are profound and are all but certain to play a role in campaigns, including the potential reelection of California’s powerful insurance commissioner and whether Californians will approve a high-stakes initiative to regulate health insurers’ rates. (Above, left to right: Covered California’s Peter Lee, Diana Dooley and Susan Kennedy.) Photo: Rich Pedroncelli/AP)
Lowering the vote threshold for passage of local school parcel taxes would likely allow far more to pass. But there is no evidence that it would expand their use beyond the sort of wealthy Bay Area school districts that already have them. These are the key findings of a report released today by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC). The report assesses the potential effect of reducing the vote required to pass these taxes from two-thirds to 55 percent—a proposal the state legislature has been discussing. Although a parcel tax is one of the only local revenue options available to school districts, these taxes are not widespread. Only about 10 percent of districts have passed one, and the money raised amounts to less than 1 percent of total K–12 revenue.
From the Public Policy Institute of California
Debt among California students has increased dramatically in recent years, but college is a good investment for the vast majority, according to a report released today by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC).
Californians with college degrees are more likely to be employed than those
From the Public Policy Institute of California
With the economy weighing on Californians’ minds, fewer than half of the state’s likely voters favor construction of a high-speed rail system or support an $11.1 billion water bond that is scheduled to go on the 2014 ballot. Both get majority support with lower price tags. These
From the Public Policy Institute of California:
Strong majorities of Californians favor Governor Jerry Brown’s budget proposal and, specifically, his plan to direct extra money to school districts with more English Learner and lower-income students. Fewer—but still a majority of residents—back the governor’s plan to pay down the state’s debt and create a reserve,
Optimism in California’s future is on the rise and more people believe the state is headed in the right direction. But one critical segment of the population rejects those positive views — aging whites.
The recent survey by the Public Policy Institute of California showed that nearly two-thirds of the whites surveyed –
Public Policy Institute of California
In the wake of Gov. Jerry Brown’s successful campaign to pass Proposition 30, his job approval rating hit a record-high 48 percent among Californians, according to a survey released today by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC). Passage of the measure to increase taxes changed the feelings of