Lao
May 18, 2012
LAO Report: Overview of the May Revision (2012-2013 Budget)
In the May Revision of his 2012-13 budget proposal, the Governor identified a larger budget problem of $15.7 billion for state leaders to address in the coming weeks. While we find that the administration's economic and revenue forecasts are reasonable, we are concerned that the amount of property tax revenues from former redevelopment agencies (RDAs) may be substantially less than the May Revision assumes in 2011-12 and 2012-13. If so, this could increase the state's Proposition 98 school funding obligations and, therefore, the size of the budget problem above administration estimates. Moreover, the administration's $1.4 billion estimate for the amount of General Fund benefit that may be achieved in 2012-13 from transferring former RDAs' liquid cash assets to school districts is highly uncertain.
We advise the Legislature to focus on adopting realistic and ongoing budget actions to continue the progress the state has made in reducing its annual operating, or structural, deficit. We describe and assess the administration's major May Revision proposals. In some cases, we offer alternative ways to achieve the savings targeted by the Governor. With regard to Proposition 98, we offer alternatives to both the Governor's basic budget plan and his trigger plan.
May 18, 2012
LAO says CA Budget in excess of $17 Billion
California's budget deficit is likely worse than Gov. Jerry Brown's estimate of $15.7 billion, the state's top fiscal analyst indicated Friday.
Brown proposed a $91.4 billion general fund budget Monday that slashes health and welfare programs, courts and state worker pay. His proposal also relies on voters temporarily raising taxes on sales and wealthy earners to help cover this year's budget gap and deficits in future years.
The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office said Friday that Brown's revenue forecast is "reasonable," though the Analyst's own projection is still $550 million below the governor's through June 2013. On top of that, the LAO warned that Brown's estimate of money available from former redevelopment programs could be overstated by $900 million...
LINK - SacBee.com
and
View the May Revise Report from the Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) HERE
May 16, 2012
LAO Report: State Should Consider Less Costly Alternatives to CDCR Blueprint
In April 2012, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) released a report (referred to as the “blueprint”) on the administration’s plan to reorganize various aspects of CDCR operations, facilities, and budgets in response to the effects of the 2011 realignment of adult offenders, as well as to meet various federal court requirements (such as reducing the inmate population to meet specified population cap targets). In this brief we (1) summarize and assess the major aspects of the blueprint and (2) present alternative approaches that are available to the Legislature. In our view, much of the administration’s blueprint merits legislative consideration.
However, the General Fund costs of the planned approach—in particular, an estimated $78 million in annual debt service—is a significant trade-off. We find that the state could meet its facility requirements (including those for medical and mental health treatment) and specified population cap targets at much lower ongoing General Fund costs than proposed by the administration, potentially saving the state as much as a billion dollars over the next seven years...
May 16, 2012
Prison construction plan costly, unnecessary, analyst says
The Legislative Analyst's Office issued a report on Wednesday criticizing the Brown administration's plan to overhaul California's prison system.
The plan, announced last month, is intended to save billions of dollars by closing a prison, shifting staff members and returning inmates housed out of state. The administration also wants to renovate and add to existing facilities.
Although the Legislative Analyst's Office said the plan "merits consideration," it said the state will end up facing high costs despite decreasing prison capacity...
LINK - LATimes.com
April 20, 2012
Public Employee Initiative Proposal - LAO Analysis
Pursuant to Elections Code Section 9005, we have reviewed the proposed constitutional and statutory initiative related to public employee retirement benefits (A.G. File No. 12-0008).
Background
Existing Public Employee Pensions. California governments currently offer comprehensive pension benefits to their employees. The benefits are funded from public employer and employee contributions, as well as investment earnings generated from those contributions. These pension benefits are provided through 85 state and local defined benefit pension plans. Some governments also contribute to retiree health and dental benefits for their former employees. The state government, for example, will contribute an estimated $1.7 billion to health and dental benefits of state and California State University (CSU) retirees in the 2011-12 fiscal year, according to the most recent actuarial estimate prepared by the State Controller’s Office (SCO)...
LINK - LAO.ca.gov
April 19, 2012
LAO Report: Providing Constitutional and Cost-Effective Inmate Medical Care
Inmate Medical Program Under Federal Receivership. In 2006, after finding that California had failed to provide a constitutional level of medical care to its inmates, a federal court appointed a Receiver to take over the direct management and operation of the state’s inmate medical care program from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). Since that time, the current and prior Receiver have taken a variety of actions that appear to have increased the quality of inmate medical care but also dramatically increased state expenditures. The increased cost of the inmate medical care program is partially attributable to several inefficiencies including its (1) inconsistent application of the utilization management system, (2) limited use of telemedicine, and (3) an inefficient management structure...
April 19, 2012
LAO says Calif. prison medical costs too high
As the state prepares to resume control of inmate medical care, it must find ways to reduce costs that are triple the national average, the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office said Thursday.
The federal receivership that has been in place since 2006 has greatly improved the medical care of state prison inmates but also has caused costs to soar, according to the report. California spends $16,000 per inmate for health care services, compared to an average of $5,000 in other states...
LINK - FresnoBee.com
April 18, 2012
Summary of LAO Findings and Recommendations on the 2012-13 Budget
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Personnel Specialist Staffing Ratios
Reduce CDCRs funding for Personnel Specialists I (PSI) and Personnel Specialist Supervisors (PSS) by $13.1 million in the budget year. This adjustment would provide CDCR with PSI positions on a 300 to 1 ratio and PSS positions on a 5 to 1 ratio, both of which are more consistent with other large state departments...
March 23, 2012
Governor’s Proposal to Complete Juvenile Justice Realignment
The Governor's Proposal:
Fully Realign Juvenile Justice to Counties. The DJJ would stop receiving new wards on January 1, 2013, though DJJ would continue to house wards admitted to its facilities prior to this date until they are released. After all wards are released from DJJ, counties would be responsible for managing all offenders adjudicated in juvenile courts.
Provide Funding to Counties. The Governor proposes to provide counties with an unspecified amount of ongoing funding beginning in 2013-14 to help them manage the increase in juvenile caseload resulting from the realignment. The Governor also proposes a one-time $10 million General Fund augmentation in 2011-12 to help counties plan for their increased caseload.
Delay Collection of Enacted Fees. Current law requires counties, as of January 1, 2012, to reimburse the state $125,000 per year for each juvenile offender committed by the courts to DJJ. The Governor has delayed the collection of these fees, and proposes to continue delaying collection for an unspecified period, perhaps indefinitely. The administration estimates that this provision would have benefited the General Fund by $60 million in 2011-12 and $125 million in 2012-13...
February 27, 2012
Summary of LAO Findings and Recommendations on the 2012-13 Budget
Proposed Organizational and Budget Changes. As part of the 2011-12 budget package, the Legislature passed budget trailer legislation that made significant changes to the Office of the Inspector General's (OIG) statutory mission. Specifically, the legislation (1) removed the peace officer status for certain OIG employees, (2) eliminated the OIG’s ability to conduct certain audits and investigations at its discretion, (3) eliminated the requirement that OIG conduct quadrennial facility operation reviews and one-year warden follow-up audits, and (4) codified in statute the OIG’s medical inspection function...
LINK - LAO.ca.gov
February 23, 2012
New prison medical facilities unnecessary, analyst says
California should hold off on building new medical facilities for prison inmates, according to report released Thursday by the legislative analyst’s office.
The report contradicts plans by a court-appointed receiver, who has run the prison health system since a federal judge declared it unconstitutionally inadequate, for $2.3 billion in new clinics and upgrades.
Construction is one of the final sticking points before the state can end six years of federal oversight of inmate medical care. The judge has ordered preparations for returning control to the state, but said the lack of new medical facilities is an ongoing problem...
LINK - LATimes.com
February 22, 2012
The 2012-13 Budget: The 2011 Realignment of Adult Offenders—An Update
In 2011, the state enacted several bills to enact a wide-ranging “realignment,” shifting several state programs and a commensurate level of revenues to local governments.
Perhaps the most significant programmatic change implemented as part of the 2011 realignment was realigning to county governments the responsibility for managing and supervising certain felon offenders who previously had been eligible for state prison and parole.
This report provides an update on the status of realignment, reviews changes proposed by the Governor, and makes several recommendations designed to promote the long-term success of realignment, such as creating a reserve fund for revenue growth as well as designing an ongoing allocation formula that is responsive to future demographic changes...
January 11, 2012
The 2012-13 Budget: Overview of the Governor’s Budget
The Governor’s proposed tax initiative is the cornerstone of his 2012-13 budget plan, which includes proposals to restructure education finance, reduce social services and child care programs substantially, and implement trigger cuts--primarily affecting schools--if voters do not approve the tax measure.
The Governor’s plan would continue the difficult task of restoring the state budget to balance, but the difficulty in knowing how much taxable income will be attributable to high-income Californians makes the state’s revenue estimates an even bigger question mark than usual.
With regard to the Governor’s major proposals, we think the Governor’s education restructuring proposals would institute lasting improvements to the system, and we observe that, while his social services and child care proposals have merit, they involve considerable drawbacks as well, given potentially severe impacts on affected families...
December 27, 2011
Legislative Analyst releases review of California pension plans
Two public pension reform plans aimed for the November 2012 ballot wouldn't make much of a dent in government costs for decades, and the savings to employers' retirement expenses would be "offset to some extent by increases in other employee compensation costs," according to the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office.
The analyses share much of the same language and conclusions. Click here for the LAO's review of the defined contribution plan backed by California Pension Reform. This link opens the review of CPR's alternative hybrid pension proposal that mirrors a plan backed by Gov. Jerry Brown....
LINK - SacBee.com
* Links above open in a new window.
November 16, 2011
California’s Fiscal Outlook: The 2012-13 Budget
The Legislative Analyst's Office has just issued the following report:
California’s Fiscal Outlook: The 2012-13 Budget
Our updated assessment of California’s economy and revenues indicates that General Fund revenues and transfers in 2011-12 will be $3.7 billion below the level assumed in the June budget package. This revenue shortfall would translate into $2 billion of potential “trigger cuts” to various state programs—including all of the “Tier 1” trigger cuts and three-fourths of the “Tier 2” trigger cuts. (The Director of Finance will determine the actual amount of trigger cuts next month.)
We forecast that the state will end 2011-12 with a $3 billion deficit, including the effects of the trigger cuts that could result from our revenue forecast. In 2012-13, we forecast that the state will face increased costs due to the expiration of a number of temporary budget measures, a significant increase in Proposition 98 school costs under current law, the required repayment of a $2 billion Proposition 1A property tax loan used to help balance the budget in 2009, and other factors. These factors contribute to a projected $10 billion operating shortfall (the difference between annual General Fund revenues and expenditures) in 2012-13. The $3 billion “carry-in” deficit from 2011-12 and the projected $10 billion operating deficit in 2012-13 mean that the Legislature and the Governor will need to address an approximately $13 billion budget problem between now and the time that the state adopts a 2012-13 budget plan. (50 pp.)
This report available using the following link: http://www.lao.ca.gov/laoapp/PubDetails.aspx?id=2539
You can download and view the .pdf file of the report below.
In addition, click the lao.ca.gov link to see three videos summarizing the report. Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor provides an overview and Deputy Jennifer Kuhn discusses Proposition 98. Deputy Jason Sisney explains the revenue and economic outlook.
November 8, 2011
LAO report on Governor’s pension proposal
The Legislative Analyst's Office has just issued the following report:
Public Pension and Retiree Health Benefits: An Initial Response to the Governor's Proposal
The Governor’s 12-point pension and retiree health plan would result in bold changes for California’s public employee retirement programs. His proposals would shift more of the financial risk for pensions—now borne largely by public employers—to employees and retirees and would, in so doing, substantially ameliorate a key area of long-term financial risk for California governments.
As this report discusses, despite the proposal’s strengths, it leaves many questions unanswered, such as how his hybrid plan and retirement age proposals would work and how the state should cope with large unfunded liabilities already affecting the California State Teachers’ Retirement System, the University of California Retirement Plan, and the health benefit program for state and California State University retirees. The Governor’s proposal to increase many current public employees’ pension contributions also raises significant legal and practical issues.
This report (36 pp.) and a companion webcast (7:42) areavailable on the LAO’s website using the following link: http://lao.ca.gov/laoapp/PubDetails.aspx?id=2537
NOTE: You can also view the LAO Report below in .pdf document format via the CCPOA.org website for those who cannot access outside links.
August 23, 2011
LAO analysis of pension related initiative
Pursuant to Elections Code Section 9005, we have reviewed the proposed constitutional initiative regarding changes to pension benefit retirement ages for certain public sector pension systems (A.G. File No. 11‑0022).
Background
California Has Both Statewide and Local Public Pension Plans. The two largest entities managing state or local pension systems in California are the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS). Combined, CalPERS and CalSTRS serve 3.1 million members (about 8 percent of California's population), including around 750,000 members and beneficiaries who currently receive benefit payments. Members of CalPERS include current and past employees of state government and the California State University (CSU), as well as judges and classified public school employees. In addition, hundreds of local governmental entities (including cities, counties, special districts, and county offices of education) choose to contract with CalPERS to provide pension benefits for their employees. Members of CalSTRS include current and past teachers and administrators of California's public school and community college districts. Members of CalPERS and CalSTRS receive differing levels of pension benefits. Many CalPERS members also participate in the federal Social Security program; in general, CalSTRS members do not...
LINK - LAO.ca.gov
August 19, 2011
2011 Realignment Report (LAO)
As part of the 2011-12 budget plan, the Legislature enacted a major shift—or “realignment”—of state program responsibilities
and revenues to local governments. In total, the realignment plan provides $6.3 billion to local governments (primarily counties) to fund various criminal justice, mental health, and social services programs in 2011-12, and ongoing funds for these programs annually thereafter...
August 5, 2011
Reductions in California prison population not enough, report says
Gov. Jerry Brown's plan to keep tens of thousands of low-level offenders in county jails instead of state prisons will help the state reduce the prison population, but it won't be enough on its own to meet a court mandate, according to a report released Friday by the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office.
The report said the state will likely fall several thousand inmates short of the 34,000-man reduction ordered by the court. It urges officials to ask a judge for more time, look at other ways to reduce crowding and consider sending more prisoners to private prisons in other states...
LINK - SFGate.com
August 5, 2011
LAO report on prison overcrowding in the news
Gov. Jerry Brown's realignment plan to shift thousands of inmates from state prisons to county jails will have a significant impact on prison overcrowding, a new report finds, but will still fall short of the court-imposed deadline requiring the state to reduce its inmate population by 34,000 over the next two years.
As a result, the state should heed the U.S. Supreme Court's suggestion that it ask for an extension of the deadlines to reduce prison populations, a report from the state's nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office concludes.
The report comes as the state is working to begin the realignment plan on Oct. 1, with corrections officials still working to figure out how many inmates will be shifted from prisons to individual counties, and local authorities still in the dark over exactly how the plan will be implemented...
LINK - SacBee.com
August 5, 2011
LAO: Reducing Prison Overcrowding in California
May 6, 2011
LAO analysis of pension reduction initiative
This is the summary from LAO:
This measure provides that public employee defined pension benefits in California can only allow for "full retirement ages" of 62 years of age or older. This provision of the measure states that it would apply to public employees who are employed on the day after this measure is approved by the state's voters, notwithstanding the Contract Clause of the State Constitution.
April 7, 2011
CCPOA proposed contract in the news
The Oscars have the buildup for best picture. College basketball has the finals. And this year's state labor deals have the CCPOA contract.
Sometime between now and Monday, the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office will publish a cost estimate on an agreement with the 32,000-member California Correctional Peace Officers Association, one of six unions that approved tentative deals with Gov. Jerry Brown's administration last month.
The LAO crunches the numbers for legislators, two-thirds of whom must agree to the deals for them to take effect. So far, the LAO has dinged the first four deals for saving too little money...
LINK - SacBee.com
February 21, 2011
Legislative analyst urges pension reductions throughout public sector
The nonpartisan state Legislative Analyst's Office urged action Thursday to reduce pensions for future employees throughout the public sector, an issue that some Republicans have demanded be part of budget talks.
The office recommended that lawmakers act not only on state employee pensions, but on retirement benefits for the University of California system, teachers and county government workers.
"From our perspective, this seems unsustainable," Jason Sisney, director of state finance for the Legislative Analyst's Office, said in a phone interview...
LINK - SacBee.com
January 24, 2011
LAO on Governor’s budget plan for CDCR funding
Overview.
The Governor’s budget for 2011-12 provides an additional $395 million in General Fund support for CDCR for expenses that the department indicates have exceeded its budget authority in previous years.
Security Staff Salary Steps ($266.5 Million).
Correctional officer, sergeant, and lieutenant positions are currently budgeted based on the middle step of each position’s salary range. However, CDCR reports that the average offi cer actually earns closer to the top step of the salary range. The budget proposes $266.5 million in additional funding to support the actual earnings of security staff.
Medical Guarding and Transportation ($55.2 Million).
In recent years, CDCR has incurred additional costs for security staff to transport and guard inmates at health care facilities outside prison walls. However, CDCR reports that its base funding of $66.4 million for such activities has not been adjusted accordingly. The budget proposes an additional $55.2 million for medical guarding and transportation.
Correctional Officer Overtime ($35.7 Million).
The CDCR argues that its base budget to pay for overtime costs for custody staff—which it identifies to be $104.3 million—has not been adjusted since 2000-01, despite a 34 percent base salary increase provided to correctional offi cer staff over that period. The budget proposes a $35.7 million augmentation for correctional officer overtime to refl ect these increases.
May 18, 2010
Legislative Analyst’s Office: May Budget Revision
Large Budget Problem Little Changed Since January. In the May Revision, the administration estimates that California must address a $17.9 billion gap between current-law resources and expenditures in the 2010‑11 General Fund budget. In our view, the administration’s estimate is reasonable. While our tax revenue estimates are slightly higher than the Governor’s: $400 million in 2009‑10 and $1 billion in 2010‑11—overall, our view of the budget problem is similar...Read the entire Overview of the May Budget Revision below.
May 18, 2010
Legislative Analyst’s Office: May Budget Revision Report
In the May Revision, the administration estimates that California must address a $17.9 billion gap between current-law resources and expenditures in the 2010‑11 General Fund budget. In our view, the administration’s estimate is reasonable...
May 11, 2010
Elderly Inmates in California Prisons
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According to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), the percentage of inmates over the age of 55 has more than doubled over the past decade, from 3 percent (or about 4,900 inmates) in 2000, to 8 percent (or about 13,600 inmates) in 2010.
The department projects that the percentage of inmates over the age of 55 will continue to increase over the next few years to about 12 percent of the prison population by 2015.
March 10, 2010
Substance Abuse Treatment Programs in the Criminal Justice System
Three Major Types of Substance Treatment Programs for Offenders:
- Community-Based Diversion Programs. Programs provided to offenders in the community in lieu of prison or a jail sentence.
- In-Prison Programs. Programs provided to offenders while in state prison.
- Parolee Programs. Programs provided to parolees in the community, mostly on a voluntary basis, upon release from prison.
Proposition 36 Programs
Overview. Proposition 36 (the Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act of 2000) changed state law so that certain adult offenders who use or possess illegal drugs are sentenced to participate in drug treatment and supervision in the community rather than being sentenced to prison or jail...
March 4, 2010
Reducing the Ward and Parolee Populations at the Division of Juvenile Facilities
Overview of Division of Juvenile Facilities
Background. The Division of Juvenile Facilities (DJF), the statutory name for the agency often referred to as the Division of Juvenile Justice, is responsible for the housing, supervision, and rehabilitation of individuals that have been committed to their custody. As a result of Chapter 175, Statutes of 2007 (SB 81, Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review), only juveniles who are violent, serious, or sex offenders are committed to DJF.
Characteristics of Wards. As of December 31, 2009, about 1,600 wards (generally ages 13 to 25, average age of 19) reside in DJF institutions. Males comprise about 95 percent of the ward population. Latinos account for roughly 60 percent of the total population, while African-Americans make up about 30 percent of the population. Whites and other races make up the remaining 10 percent.
Juvenile Facilities. The DJF is comprised of fi ve youth correctional facilities and two camps. Recently, DJF closed the Herman G. Stark Youth Correctional Facility in Chino...
February 3, 2010
May Revision Overview: Judicial & Criminal Justice
Major State Programs. The major state judicial and criminal justice programs include the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) and the Department of Justice, as well as the state court system. 2009-10 Budget. The 2009-10 Budget Act includes a total of $12.5 billion from the General Fund for judicial and criminal justice programs, which is about 14 percent of all General Fund spending. This amount—which includes support for operations, capital outlay, and debt service for related facilities—represents a decrease of about $727 million, or 6 percent, below the revised level of current-year spending for these programs....
February 2, 2010
Informational: CDCR, Local Government Financing
LAO Compromise
- Results in an additional $112.1 million in General Fund... savings relative to Assembly version.
- Funds only programs that have demonstrated effectiveness at improving public safety.
- Recognized the availability of special funds to support programs.
- Eliminates programs that are primarily a local responsibility.
January 26, 2010
Prisons vs. Universities Proposal Would Unwisely Lock Up Budget Flexibility
In his January budget, the Governor proposed a state constitutional amendment that would require reductions in spending on state corrections, with corresponding increases in spending for public universities. Beginning in 2014‑15, the state would be required to dedicate no more than 7 percent of state General Fund spending to corrections and no less than 10 percent to public universities. We urge the Legislature to reject this proposal because it (1) would unwisely constrain the state’s ability to allocate funding where it is most needed each year; and (2) is unnecessary, as the state already has the ability to shift funding among programs without this constitutional amendment...
January 25, 2010
The 2010-11 Budget: Assessing the Prison Population Reduction Proposal
As part of the January 2010 special session to begin bringing the 2009‑10 and 2010‑11 budgets into balance, the Governor proposes statutory changes to reduce the state’s inmate and parolee populations. Specifically, the Governor proposes to require that offenders who have no prior serious or violent offenses and are convicted of certain property and drug felony crimes serve a maximum sentence of one year and one day in county jail in lieu of a state prison sentence.
The administration estimates that, if approved by March 1, 2010, these changes would reduce state correctional costs by $25.2 million in 2009‑10 and $291.6 million in 2010‑11. In this brief, we (1) analyze the Governor’s proposal, particularly in the context of recent policy actions to reduce the inmate and parole populations, and (2) recommend modifying the Governor’s proposal to permit counties to place additional jail inmates on electronic home monitoring...
January 20, 2010
California Out-of-State Correctional Facility Program
Overview of Out-of-State Bed Program
Mission. The California Out-of-State Correctional Facility (COCF) program is administered by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). Its mission is to transfer inmates out of state for the purpose of temporarily alleviating overcrowding within existing state prisons.
Number of Inmates. The department currently has 8,021 male inmates housed in fi ve out-of-state facilities. Inmates housed in these facilities are generally highersecurity level inmates. Most inmates have been transferred involuntarily. Inmates with serious medical and mental health issues are generally excluded from the program...
January 12, 2010
Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) says Gov’s budget full of holes
The Governor proposes $19.9 billion of budget solutions in 2009-10 and 2010-11 to address the budget shortfall and create a $1 billion reserve. While it is reasonable to assume the state will secure some new federal funding and flexibility, the chances that the state will receive all of what the Governor seeks from Washington are almost non-existent. The Legislature should assume that federal relief will be billions of dollars less than the Governor wants—necessitating that it make more very difficult decisions affecting both state revenues and spending. Many of this year's budget solutions will require significant time for departments to implement. Therefore, the Legislature and the Governor need to agree to a framework to solve much of the budget problem by the end of March…
LINK - LAO.ca.gov
May 3, 2009
Achieving Better Outcomes for Adult Probation
County probation departments in California supervise roughly 350,000 adult offenders in their community. In addition to supervision, these departments also refer probationers to a variety of rehabilitation and treatment programs. Although the probation programs and supervision are a local responsibility, their performance affects state-level public safety programs. This is because adult offenders that fail on probation can have their probation term revoked and be sentenced to state prison, where it costs the state on average approximately $49,000 per year to incarcerate an offender...
May 3, 2009
Implementing AB 900’s Prison Construction & Rehabilitation Initiatives
On May 23, 2007, the Governor signed into law Chapter 7, Statutes of 2007 (AB 900, Solorio), in order to relieve the significant overcrowding problems facing state prisons. Specifically, AB 900 authorized a total of approximately $7.7 billion for a broad package of prison construction and rehabilitation initiatives. Prison Construction Projects ($7.7 Billion). The measure contained a number of significant provisions to finance the construction of both state prisons and county jail space using $7.4 billion in lease-revenue bonds and a $300 million General Fund appropriation...
May 3, 2009
Spending in Correctional Officer Overtime
The Governor's budget provides a $35.7 million General Fund augmentation to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) to pay for overtime costs for custody staff. The CDCR argues that its base overtime budget - which it identifi es to be $104.3 million—has not been adjusted since 2000-01, despite a 34 percent base salary increase provided to correctional officer staff over that period. The $104.3 million overtime budget identifi ed by CDCR does not include about $49 million in additional overtime funding provided since 2004-05 for various activities, such as medical guarding...
March 3, 2009
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
Background. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) is responsible for the incarceration and care of adult felons and non-felon narcotics addicts at 33 state prisons, as well as juvenile offenders at 6 youth correctional facilities. The CDCR also supervises parolees and wards released to the community. The department has nearly 70,000 employees. Operations Budget. The 2009-10 budget includes about $9.8 billion—almost entirely from the General Fund—to operate CDCR. Over 90 percent of these funds support adult inmates and parolees. The budget includes a $180 million unallocated reduction to the Receiver's medical services program and a $400 million unallocated reduction resulting from a Governor's veto...
March 3, 2009
Overview of Corrections Spending and Administration
Background. The CDCR is responsible for the incarceration and care of adult felons and non-felon narcotics addicts at 33 state prisons, as well as juvenile offenders at 6 youth correctional facilities. The CDCR also provides services to parolees and wards released to the community. Total Budget. The revised 2008-09 budget includes total expenditures of $11.2 billion for CDCR from all fund sources. About 90 percent of these expenditures are funded from the General Fund. The department has nearly 70,000 employees. Operations Budget. The budget includes $10.4 billion—almost entirely from the General Fund—to operate CDCR. Over 90 percent of the department's operations budget supports supervision of adult inmates and parolees, with the remaining funds supporting supervision of juvenile offenders and various administrative costs...
January 28, 2009
CA Chief Probation Officers Assn Response to LAO Criminal Justice Realignment
Today, Chief Don Meyer, President of the Chief Probation Officers of California, issued the following statement in response to the Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) report Criminal Justice Realignment, 2009-10 Budget Analysis Series:
Probation departments throughout the state have taken severe cuts to juvenile probation services over the past few years and, yet again, this year's budget proposes to cut juvenile probation services even further.
These cuts will have devastating impacts on public safety and rehabilitation services for juvenile offenders. The Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) proposal released today will deteriorate local probation services even further by requiring additional realignment of the juvenile justice system as well as drug and DUI adult offenders. Even if these additional realignments were fully funded, probation departments cannot take on this increased responsibility, or any increased responsibility, without first addressing the huge deficit probation departments are currently operating under.
Unfortunately, the LAO's proposal does not address the massive cuts recently imposed on probation services, nor does it address the further cuts being proposed to juvenile probation services over the next 18 months. The report also misses the mark by not addressing the shortfall probation will still face under a funded realignment proposal and the resources lacking in probation departments needed to fulfill the services and mandates required under the realignment.
In order for probation to take on any new responsibilities, the state must address the massive cuts probation has suffered over the past year as well as the proposed cuts for the next 18 months. Probation has been working from an underfunded status for years and further realignments would only serve to make that deficit larger. The current prison overcrowding crisis is in large part due to a chronically underfunded adult probation system that lacks resources to rehabilitate adult offenders at the local level. Over half of the convicted adult felons on probation in the community are provided little or no supervision, treatment, or other services needed to reduce recidivism. Without a responsible approach to realignment, it will only jeopardize public safety, cost the state more in increased court and prison costs, and be a detrimental downslide for proven public safety practices in our state.
January 3, 2009
The 2009-10 LAO Budget Analysis Series
In November, the administration projected a $24 billion drop in revenues from the estimates in place a few months earlier when the 2008.09 Budget Act was adopted. Now, due to the worsening economy, the administration projects an additional $7 billion decline in revenues. Combined with the states chronic operating shortfall and rising expenses, the administration projects that the state would end 2009.10 with a deficit of $40 billion absent corrective action...
June 13, 2008
LAO Compromise: Proposals to Reduce Inmate and Parole Populations
Benefits of LAO Compromise:
- Would generate $398 million in General Fund savings... in the budget year. This amount would increase significantly in 2009-10, thereby providing an ongoing budget solution.
- The LAO package includes a series of proposals that are consistent with recommendations of national experts on corrections, such as earned discharge and additional credits for completing rehabilitation programs. Our approach would increase offender accountability and provide incentives for offenders to participate and complete programs designed to reduce recidivism. The LAO package reduces public safety risk compared to early release or the broad use of summary parole or direct discharge.
June 13, 2008
Informational: Reentry Facilities Program Study and Acquisition
We recommend the following conference compromise:
- Approve funding of $3 million for the reentry facilities program study and acquisition activities (Assembly plus $3 million).
- Approve budget bill language (BBL) proposed by the administration allowing the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) with the approval of the Department of Finance to use funds for site investigations and real estate due diligence activities preliminary to the site selection and acquisition of interests in real property. The CDCR is also authorized, with the approval of the State Public Works Board, to enter into agreements for the acquisition of an option to purchase real property...
May 12, 2008
Prison and Parole Population Management Options
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The administration proposes two policies - 20-month early release and summary parole—designed to significantly reduce the state's inmate and parolee caseloads by a total of 63,000 offenders at full implementation in 2009-10. The administration estimates its proposals would save the state $354 million in 2008-09 and $758 million in 2009-10.
March 24, 2008
Police wary of parole change
A proposal to narrow California's $14.5 billion budget deficit by shifting responsibility for monitoring some parolees from the state to counties could lead to sharp cuts in police funding, local law enforcement officials said.
"It would result in a loss of officers, possibly a hiring freeze," said Stockton police Officer Pete Smith, a department spokesman.
In a February report, the state Legislative Analyst's Office recommended transferring parolees considered "low-risk," which excludes those on parole for violent or sexual crimes, to county probation departments. Approximately 71,000 parolees - around 56 percent of the total case load - are considered low-risk, guilty of drug or property offenses…
LINK - Recordnet.com
March 13, 2008
Legislative analyst leaving at end of year
Legislative Analyst Elizabeth Hill announced Thursday that she will retire from her "dream job" at the end of the year.
"It's time for a new chapter in my life," said Hill, 58, who has served as the Legislature's nonpartisan budget analyst for 22 years.
Hill, who recently released her own alternative to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposed state budget, said she was under no pressure to resign.
LINK - SacBee.com (The Sacramento Bee)
February 25, 2008
Budget watchdog’s plan finds fault with governor’s early-release proposal
The Legislative Analyst's Office is proposing to shift more than half of the state's parole population to county probation control. In its most recent analysis of the state budget, the LAO said the move could mean annual savings to the state of $500 million.
"We've been on record for something like 15 years advocating the idea of consolidating state parole supervision with county probation," said Dan Carson, chief of the LAO's criminal justice program. "What we've come up with this year is a specific proposal that takes the first step in that direction." Carson said the LAO proposal contrasts sharply with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's plans to release 22,000 inmates in the final 20 months of their term and leave them and 18,500 more offenders essentially unsupervised but still subject to search and seizure…
LINK - SacBee.com
February 21, 2008
LAO Recommends Against Governor’s Early Release and Summary Parole Programs
Prison and Parole Population Reduction Proposals Not Best Options. We recommend alternatives to the administration's early release and summary parole proposals which we believe offer a better trade off between public safety and budget savings by: (1) changing crimes currently classified as "wobblers" to misdemeanors and (2) substituting an "earned discharge" program for the Governor's summary parole proposal…
LINK - LAO.CA.gov
February 20, 2008
The 2008-09 Budget: Perspectives & Issues
The purpose of this document is to assist the Legislature in setting its priorities and reflecting these priorities in the 2008-09 Budget Bill and in other legislation. It seeks to accomplish this by (1) providing perspectives on the state's fiscal condition and the budget proposed by the Governor for 2008-09 and (2) identifying some of the major issues now facing the Legislature. As such, this document is intended to complement the Analysis of the 2008-09 Budget Bill, which contains our review of the 2008-09 Governor's Budget.
February 20, 2008
Opinion: “Government Day”
Did you notice how light traffic was in the Victor Valley Monday morning? If you did, it was probably because you had to go to work, since almost all businesses, particularly retail operations, were open. So who was staying home and off the roads early in the morning? Government employees. City Halls were shut down, as were schools, the county, federal government offices, and various and sundry other places financed by the taxpayers. They were on holiday; it was Presidents Day.
The government's work force is the fastest-growing sector of employment in the United States. It also, as it happens, is the most heavily unionized. Some 95 percent of all government workers are union members…
LINK - VVDailyPress.com
February 13, 2008
Legislative Analyst’s Office Says Boosting Classes Saves Money
If California wants to save money, it would enroll a lot more prisoners in inmate education programs than it currently does, the Legislative Analyst's Office said in a report Tuesday. Only 54,000 of the prison system's 170,000 inmates attend academic, vocational, industries or independent study programs, the LAO said, even though 75 percent of its population reads at the high school level…
LINK - SacBee.com
February 12, 2008
Officials Tight-Lipped About No Pay Raise for Prison Guards
Lynelle Jolley, DPA spokeswoman, said the state needs to get an officers' contract signed. "We've tried bargaining, we've tried mediation - we'd try therapy if we thought the LAO would think it would help," Jolley said. Beyond that, Jolley said the DPA had no comment other than that "We stand by our offer (of a 5-percent raise)…"
LINK - FolsomTelegraph.com
February 7, 2008
LAO: Don’t Give Prison Guards a Raise
The Legislative Analyst's Office has recommended that the Legislature reject Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's plan to give the prison officers' union a 5 percent pay raise this year at a cost of $260 million. In a report released today, Legislative Analyst Elizabeth Hill said that the 30,000 employees represented by the California Correctional Peace Officers Association already make enough money, with a base pay for the top-step officer reaching to approximately $73,000 a year…
LINK - SacBee.com
February 7, 2008
Analysis: Correctional Officer Pay, Benefits, and Labor Relations
The administration proposes a 5 percent raise for correctional officers and legislation to allow it to impose a labor settlement on the officers' union, the California Correctional Peace Officers Association (CCPOA). We find that the officers' compensation levels are sufficient to allow the prisons to meet personnel needs at the present time, but we generally agree with other administration proposals to increase management control in prisons. We note that the dysfunctional relationship between the administration and CCPOA makes it more difficult to address the many issues facing the state's prison and personnel management systems...
January 25, 2008
Prison Population Drops
Brown said the LAO is recommending against Schwarzenegger's budget cut for the current year because the lower-than-expected prison population will result in the added savings. As of Jan. 16, the prison population stood at 170,811, or more than 2,300 fewer than the state housed on Nov. 21. Corrections spokesman Oscar Hidalgo attributed the decline mostly to the creation of new community drug programs for parolees who otherwise would have been returned to prison on parole violations…
LINK - SacBee.com
January 2, 2006
Analysis of the 2006-07 Budget Bill
From the Introduction section of the Auditor's report:
The department operates 33 adult prisons, including 11 reception centers, a central medical facility, a treatment center for narcotic addicts under civil commitment, and a substance abuse facility for incarcerated felons. The CDCR also operates eight juvenile correctional facilities, including three reception centers. In addition, CDCR manages 13 Community Correctional Facilities, 44 adult and juvenile conservation camps, the Richard A. McGee Correctional Training Center, and 202 adult and juvenile parole offices.
January 2, 2006
Analysis of the 2007-08 Budget Bill
From the Introduction section of the Auditor's report:
The department operates 33 adult prisons, including 11 reception centers, a central medical facility, a treatment center for narcotic addicts under civil commitment, and a substance abuse facility for incarcerated felons. The CDCR also operates eight juvenile correctional facilities, including three reception centers. In addition, CDCR manages 13 Community Correctional Facilities, 46 adult and juvenile conservation camps, the Richard A. McGee Correctional Training Center, and 192 adult and juvenile parole offices.
January 2, 2004
Analysis of the 2004-05 Budget Bill
From the Introduction section of the Auditor's report:
The department operates 32 institutions, including a central medical facility, a treatment center for narcotic addicts under civil commitment, and a substance abuse treatment facility for incarcerated felons. A new maximum-security institution is scheduled to open in spring 2005 at Delano (Kern County). The CDC system also operates 11 reception centers to process newly committed prisoners; 12 Community Correctional Facilities; 38 fire and conservation camps; the Richard A. McGee Correctional Training Center; 126 community reentry programs; two restitution centers; a drug treatment center; 185 parole offices; and 73 outpatient psychiatric services clinics.
July 2, 2002
Analysis of the 2002-03 Budget Bill
From the Introduction section of the Auditor's report:
The department now operates 33 institutions, including a central medical facility, a treatment center for narcotic addicts under civil commitment, and a substance abuse treatment facility for incarcerated felons. The CDC system also includes 12 reception centers to process newly committed prisoners; 16 community correctional facilities; 38 fire and conservation camps; the Richard A. McGee Correctional Training Center; 34 community reentry, restitution, and drug treatment programs; 136 parole offices; and 4 outpatient psychiatric services clinics.
