Budget and Finance

Reformers get help in fight over school funding law

Education reformers and advocates for poor communities have a new tool in the fight over implementation of a 2013 law that was supposed to provide extra help to millions of struggling California students. The Local Control Funding Formula — championed

Brown adds $2 billion to program that worries LAO

Chris Reed May 19, 2015

Gov. Jerry Brown’s revised 2015-16 state budget boosts from $4 billion to $6.1 billion the funding being given to the Local Control Funding Formula for public schools. That’s the program established by Brown via a 2013 state law to specifically

School districts seek help with pension bailout costs

Chris Reed May 17, 2015

The bailout of the California State Teachers’ Retirement System enacted last year requires a 70 percent increase in pension contributions from school districts, a 20 percent increase from the state general fund and a 10 percent increase in teacher contributions.

Budget reflects truce in Brown-Napolitano fight over UC

Chris Reed May 16, 2015

For eight months, the most high-profile political fight in Sacramento has been between Gov. Jerry Brown and University of California President Janet Napolitano, triggered by Napolitano’s attempts to pressure Brown and the Legislature to increase funding for the UC system.

Brown debuts big budget revision

James Poulos May 15, 2015

Gov. Jerry Brown has unveiled the highly-anticipated revision to his annual state budget, teeing up final spending negotiations in Sacramento — largely with his fellow Democrats. Despite a resurgence in California’s fiscal fortunes, including tax receipts some $2 billion in

BOE: New services tax could boost CA revenue by $122 billion

Dave Roberts May 9, 2015

Placing a tax on business services in California has the potential to raise an additional $122.6 billion annually for state and local governments, according to a recent Board of Equalization study. A services tax could become a reality if Senate

UC endowments soar as tuition hikes continue

Steve Miller May 5, 2015

While families struggle to help students with tuition — and as student loan debt skyrockets — California universities continue to amass multimillion- and even billion-dollar endowments. Endowments at the state university system schools have seen massive increases since 2009, even

Did use of school bonds for iPads deceive bond buyers?

Chris Reed April 21, 2015

When California voters passed Proposition 39 in 2000, they thought they were simply making it easier to pass school bonds for construction of facilities by lowering the approval threshold from two-thirds of the vote to 55 percent. But a provision

Pension funds’ goal: High returns or symbolic stands?

Chris Reed April 11, 2015

Government pension funds around America have for years been pressured to take stands on political issues by investing or not investing in particular companies or industries. Pension fund managers bent on maximizing returns typically push back, especially in an era

Detroit sends CA another bankruptcy warning

John Seiler March 27, 2015

The Stockton and San Bernardino bankruptcies in 2012 were the largest for cities in American history — until Detroit in 2013. State laws and situations differ. But there’s a new warning from Detroit for California’s municipal governments, especially as bankruptcy courts