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Report on massive cost overrun may be turning point for troubled bullet train

Despite Gov. Jerry Brown’s full-throated defense of the troubled bullet train project in his State of the State speech Thursday in Sacramento, a consultant’s report warning of a huge cost overrun on the project’s first segment in the Central Valley

Realtors’ initiative could boost home sales, limit property taxes

Steven Greenhut December 2, 2017

SACRAMENTO – Property-tax-limiting Proposition 13 has long been viewed as the “third rail” of California politics given its continued popularity among the home-owning electorate. Public-sector unions occasionally talk about sponsoring an initiative to eliminate its tax limits for commercial properties,

California’s Legislative Analyst claims NIMBYism driving state’s housing crisis

Chris Reed March 10, 2017

When Gov. Jerry Brown’s aggressive proposal to jump-start housing construction by sharply streamlining the approvals process for urban housing projects that met certain conditions died quietly in September, the general consensus was that it was a victim of powerful factions

LAO: State’s reserves could weather mild recession, face “considerable uncertainty”

Matt Fleming November 17, 2016

Although it faces “considerable uncertainty,” the state’s budget could survive a mild recession for four years without a tax hike or sharp cuts, according to a new report from the Legislative Analyst’s Office. The LAO warned that the stock market fluctuations and other

Competing death-penalty measures revive old feud

Steven Greenhut October 25, 2016

SACRAMENTO – Thirty years ago, California voters did something unprecedented (and not seen since): They bounced Chief Justice Rose Bird from the supreme court. Two other state high-court justices also failed to win reconfirmation to the court, following an intense

Prop. 53 could have far-reaching consequences for state project financing – or not

Steven Greenhut September 13, 2016

SACRAMENTO – Most California voters are unfamiliar with the inner workings of the municipal-bond process. Many are likewise unfamiliar with the differences between, say, “general obligation” bonds and “revenue” bonds. Nevertheless, they will be asked Nov. 8 whether to require

Tobacco tax one of the most heated for November ballot

Steven Greenhut September 6, 2016

SACRAMENTO – There’s broad agreement that the 17 initiatives on the statewide ballot on November 8 cover some of the most significant public-policy issues to come before voters in more than a decade. For instance, voters will have a chance

Why Prop. 47 fiscal critique may hurt Brown’s Prop. 57 push

Chris Reed August 2, 2016

Proposition 47 — the 2014 state ballot measure recategorizing many felonies as misdemeanors — has already faced heavy criticism. Prosecutors and police chiefs across California say it is behind a wave of petty crimes as offenders who previously were locked

Bullet-train route change doesn’t win over many

Chris Reed March 21, 2016

Trying to build fresh momentum in Southern California, the California High-Speed Rail Authority last week unveiled major changes in the proposed bullet-train route meant to limit disruption to poor communities in the San Fernando Valley. But the reaction wasn’t as

LAO: Teacher pension fund too risky and complex

Matt Fleming February 5, 2016

Policy analysts are calling on state lawmakers to simplify the way the teachers’ pension fund gets funded — to improve oversight and to avoid the state being left in a lurch. According to the non-partisan Legislative Analyst’s Office, the “subjective” funding