Budget and Finance

Legislators propose differing plans to fund state-wide highway repair

There is consensus that California’s roads and highways must be fixed. There is no consensus how the fix should be paid for. A Special Session legislative meeting Friday was called a first step in finding agreement to the funding problem.

Voters will confront more bonds on 2016 ballot

Joel Fox October 15, 2015

State Treasurer John Chiang issued a report recently that praises California’s fiscal strides in dealing with debt but also raises warnings that the state is still in the deep end of the debt pool. The issue of debt will be on

Developer lobby helping to promote $9 billion education bond

Steve Miller October 7, 2015

A $9 billion school-construction bond that voters will decide on in November 2016 will be promoted heavily by titans in the construction industry that stand to profit mightily if the measure passes. The stakes for builders are high; failure to

Government transparency effort faces union backlash

Dave Roberts September 23, 2015

Senate Bill 331, a bill sponsored by government employee unions that is on Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk, is touted as increasing transparency in contracting by certain local governments. But critics say the bill’s provisions are actually intended to punish agencies

DeMaio/Reed pension reform initiative may be pushed back to 2018 ballot

Joel Fox September 22, 2015

Over the weekend, two sources indicated to me that the Chuck Reed/Carl DeMaio pension reform initiative would be pulled, re-written, and re-submitted to the attorney general for a new title and summary. If it is to be re-filed, it is

State Treasurer refinances state bond debt, saves taxpayers $270 million

John September 22, 2015

The State of California has found a way to save $270 million — without budget cuts or raising taxes. State Treasurer John Chiang recently announced that his office had completed the sale of $1.93 billion in general obligation bonds, which

Cal State University system hikes fees to offset tuition freeze

Steve Miller August 22, 2015

What a difference five years makes. In 2010, the California State University system issued $352 million in revenue bonds. Earlier this month, it issued $1.1 billion of the same thing. The debt issuance is standard, generally considered to be part of the

Bullet train agency still slow to acquire land

Chris Nichols August 6, 2015

Buying land for California’s bullet train remains a slow and contentious process for the state’s high-speed rail agency — but the state’s top rail official said this week he doesn’t expect any “significant” project delays as a result. The California

Groups eye additional “sin tax” revenue

Joel Fox July 28, 2015

Is a tax on cigarettes a revenue raiser or a “sin tax” — used to discourage individuals from using products considered harmful? The effort to raise taxes on cigarettes – there is a measure in the Legislature as well a

Audit reveals ‘serious and pervasive deficiencies’ in West Covina

John July 13, 2015

A scathing audit by state Controller Betty T. Yee has found “serious and pervasive deficiencies” in the city of West Covina’s administrative and internal accounting controls. The problems with West Covina’s public contracts were so bad, the controller’s office says,