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Statewide Survey

PPIC Statewide Survey: Californians and Their Government

By Mark Baldassare, Lunna Lopes, Dean Bonner, David Kordus

Some findings of the current survey:

  • Public concern about the drought is at a record high: 69 percent of Californians say their regional water supply is a big problem.
  • A solid majority favor the governor’s budget (73%) and his state Earned Income Tax Credit proposal (60%).
  • Californians are divided on extending Proposition 30 tax increases. A solid majority (70%) favor increasing cigarette taxes, but fewer than half support other tax proposals.
  • Most California adults (67%) and public school parents (65%) say unvaccinated children should not attend public school. A large majority (87%) say vaccines are at least somewhat safe.

Job Approval Ratings:
President Obama [PDF]
Governor Brown [PDF]
California State Legislature [PDF]
U.S. Congress [PDF]

Time Trends of Job Approval Ratings:
President Obama [XLS]
Governor Brown [XLS]
California State Legislature [XLS]
U.S. Congress [XLS]

Mood of Californians:
General Direction of Things in California [PDF]
Economic Outlook for California [PDF]

Time Trends for the Mood of Californians:
General Direction of Things in California [XLS]
Economic Outlook for California [XLS]

This survey was supported with funding from The James Irvine Foundation.

Statewide Survey

PPIC Statewide Survey: Californians and Their Government

By Mark Baldassare, Renatta DeFever, Lunna Lopes, Dean Bonner

Some findings of the current survey:

  • Californians are starting 2015 on an optimistic note: majorities see the state headed in the right direction and are hopeful that elected leaders will work together.
  • Partisans are divided over whether the state should use its budget surplus to pay down debt and build up the reserve or to restore social services.
  • Californians support increased funding for higher education but also want existing funds to be spent more wisely.
  • Most Californians see crime as a problem in their communities, and a majority think that minorities are not treated equally by the criminal justice system—blacks are especially likely to hold this view.

Job Approval Ratings:
President Obama [PDF]
Governor Brown [PDF]
California State Legislature [PDF]
U.S. Congress [PDF]
Senator Boxer [PDF]
Senator Feinstein [PDF]
Their Own State Legislators in the Assembly and Senate [PDF]
Their Own Representative in the U.S. House of Representatives [PDF]

Time Trends of Job Approval Ratings:
President Obama [XLS]
Governor Brown [XLS]
California State Legislature [XLS]
U.S. Congress [XLS]
Senator Boxer [XLS]
Senator Feinstein [XLS]
Their Own State Legislators in the Assembly and Senate [XLS]
Their Own Representative in the U.S. House of Representatives [XLS]

Mood of Californians:
General Direction of Things in California [PDF]
Economic Outlook for California [PDF]

Time Trends for the Mood of Californians:
General Direction of Things in California [XLS]
Economic Outlook for California [XLS]

This survey was supported with funding from The James Irvine Foundation.

Statewide Survey

PPIC Statewide Survey: Californians and Their Government

By Mark Baldassare, Dean Bonner, Alyssa Dykman, Lunna Lopes

Key findings from the current survey: Four in ten Californians approve of Governor-Elect Newsom’s plans and priorities; half say they want him to take a different policy direction from Governor Brown. Majorities see new state spending on universal health coverage and free community college as high priorities; fewer prioritize high-speed rail. Californians view jobs and the economy as the most important priority for the state’s future; many believe that children will be worse off than their parents.

Statewide Survey

PPIC Statewide Survey: Californians and the Environment

By Mark Baldassare, Dean Bonner, Lunna Lopes, David Kordus

Strong majorities of California adults (72%) and likely voters (66%) favor the new state law mandating reductions in greenhouse gas emissions; 56% of adults and 49% of likely voters support the state’s cap-and-trade program.

Statewide Survey

PPIC Statewide Survey: Californians and Education

By Mark Baldassare, Lunna Lopes, Dean Bonner, Sonja Petek

Some findings of the current survey:

  • A strong majority of Californians support the Local Control Funding Formula; fewer than half favor the Common Core State Standards.
  • Most public school parents say they have heard nothing at all about the Smarter Balanced assessments.
  • Half of Californians say the state’s budget situation is a big problem for K–12 education and six in 10 say state funding for local schools is not enough.
  • Two-thirds of adults and about half of likely voters would vote yes on a state or local bond measure to fund school construction projects.

Job Approval Ratings:
Governor Brown [PDF]
California State Legislature [PDF]]

Time Trends of Job Approval Ratings:
Governor Brown [XLS]
California State Legislature [XLS]

This survey was supported with funding from the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, The Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation, the Silver Giving Foundation, and the Stuart Foundation.

Statewide Survey

PPIC Statewide Survey: Californians and Their Government

By Mark Baldassare, Dean Bonner, Sonja Petek

Some findings of the current survey:

  • Proposition 19, which would have legalized marijuana in the state, captured the most voter interest of all propositions on the Nov. 2 ballot.
  • The support of independents was key for the election victories of governor-elect Jerry Brown and Senator Barbara Boxer.
  • Although every incumbent state legislator was re-elected, 81 percent of voters say they disapprove of the legislature’s job performance.

Job Approval Ratings:
President Obama [PDF]
Governor Schwarzenegger [PDF]
California State Legislature [PDF]
U.S. Congress [PDF]

Mood of Californians:
General Direction of Things in California [PDF]
Economic Outlook for California [PDF]

This survey was supported with funding from The James Irvine Foundation.

Statewide Survey

PPIC Statewide Survey: Californians and Their Government

By Mark Baldassare, Jennifer Paluch, Dean Bonner, Sonja Petek

Some findings of the current survey:

  • Former eBay CEO Meg Whitman leads the field among likely voters in the GOP gubernatorial primary, but Democrat Jerry Brown beats all three potential Republican candidates in hypothetical 2010 general election matchups.
  • More than half of likely voters say the issues of lowering the legislative vote threshold to pass a state budget and allowing same-sex marriage are very important.
  • Half of Californians support proposed changes to the health care system, given what they know about the legislation. They take a pessimistic view of military efforts in Afghanistan, and are divided on President Obama’s proposal for more troops there.

Job Approval Ratings:
President Obama
Governor Schwarzenegger
California State Legislature
U.S. Congress
Their Own State Legislator in the Assembly and Senate
Their Own Representative in the U.S. House of Representatives

Time Trends of Job Approval Ratings:
President Obama
Governor Schwarzenegger
California State Legislature
U.S. Congress
Their Own State Legislators in the Assembly and Senate
Their Own Representative in the U.S. House of Representatives

 
 
This survey is supported with funding from The James Irvine Foundation.

Statewide Survey

PPIC Statewide Survey: Special Survey on Californians and the Environment

By Mark Baldassare

This is the 37th PPIC Statewide Survey and the fifth in a series of eight surveys that will focus on population growth, land use, and the environment. This survey focuses in particular on public perceptions, individual actions, and policy preferences relating to air quality issues.

Some findings of the current survey

  • Residents in the Central Valley (42%) are now as likely as Los Angeles residents (43%) to consider air pollution a big problem in their region of the state. In 2000, only 28% of Central Valley residents saw air quality as a big problem.
  • 68% of Californians believe that increased carbon dioxide and other gases released into the atmosphere will, if unchecked, lead to global warming.
  • Most employed residents in the state report that they commute to work by driving alone (73%); many fewer commute by carpool (13%) or public transit (5%).
  • President and governor receive very low approval ratings for their handling of environmental issues: Davis, 30%; Bush, 37%.
  • 86% of Californians say that the presidential candidates' positions in 2004 on environmental issues will be a very important (41%) or somewhat important (45%) factor in determining their vote.

Statewide Survey

PPIC Statewide Survey: Californians and Their Government

By Mark Baldassare, Dean Bonner, Sonja Petek, Nicole Willcoxon

Some findings of the current survey:

  • Jerry Brown leads Meg Whitman by 8 points in the governor’s race.
  • Senator Barbara Boxer and challenger Carly Fiorina are locked in a close contest.
  • Support for Proposition 19, marijuana legalization, has dropped below 50 percent.
  • Six in 10 Californians are worried about being able to pay their rent or mortgage.

Job Approval Ratings:
President Obama [PDF]
Governor Schwarzenegger [PDF]
California State Legislature [PDF]
U.S. Congress [PDF]

Time Trends of Job Approval Ratings:
President Obama [XLS]
Governor Schwarzenegger [XLS]
California State Legislature [XLS]
U.S. Congress [XLS]

Mood of Californians:
General Direction of Things in California [PDF]
General Direction of Things in the United States [PDF]
Economic Outlook for California [PDF]

Time Trends for the Mood of Californians:
General Direction of Things in California [XLS]
General Direction of Things in the United States [XLS]
Economic Outlook for California [XLS]

This survey was supported with funding from The James Irvine Foundation.

Statewide Survey

PPIC Statewide Survey: Californians and Their Government

By Mark Baldassare, Dean Bonner, Sonja Petek, Jui Shrestha

Some findings of the current survey:

  • About half of Californians say there need to be major changes in the relationship between state and local governments.
  • Most Californians generally approve of Governor Jerry Brown’s revised budget plan but less than half support the proposal to extend temporary tax and fee increases.
  • Sixty-two percent of California adults support cutting funding to state prisons and corrections.

Job Approval Ratings:
Governor Brown [PDF]
California State Legislature [PDF]

Time Trends of Job Approval Ratings:
Governor Brown [XLS]
California State Legislature [XLS]

Mood of Californians:
General Direction of Things in California [PDF]
Economic Outlook for California [PDF]

Time Trends for the Mood of Californians:
General Direction of Things in California [XLS]
Economic Outlook for California [XLS]

This survey was supported with funding from The James Irvine Foundation.

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