PPIC Statewide Survey: Special Survey on the California State Budget

Some findings of the current survey:

• A large majority (68%) of Californians support the central proposal of Gov. Schwarzenegger’s recent State of the State speech-a $222 billion program for rebuilding the state’s infrastructure, financed with bonds.
• Education facilities (48%) are the most popular infrastructure priority, followed by transportation projects (25%), water systems (17%), jails and prisons (3%) and courts (2%).
• 60% of residents approve of the governor’s proposed 2006-2007 budget. But 61% also say the imbalance between state spending and revenue remains a big problem for California.
• Although Californians typically reject raising taxes on themselves, they find it more acceptable to raise taxes on specific subgroups, such as the richest Californians (65%) and cigarette smokers (71%).
• The governor’s overall approval rating improved to 40%, but approval for his handling of specific issues such as jobs and the economy (39%) and the state budget and taxes (35%) lag.

This is the 63rd PPIC Statewide Survey and the sixth in a series of special surveys focusing on the California budget and fiscal system, funded by The James Irvine Foundation.