Occasional Paper, Report The Role and Impact of the Public Policy Institute of California: An Operating Foundation as Think Tank By David W. Lyon Mar 4, 2004 Presented to the Board of Directors at its Quarterly Meeting on March 4, 2004 at the Public Policy Institute of California in San Francisco, California.
Occasional Paper, Report The California Initiative Process-How Democratic Is It? Feb 1, 2002 Prepared for the event "The California Initiative Process--How Democratic?", February 7, 2002. Co-sponsored by The Commonwealth Club of California and the Public Policy Institute of California
Report A California State of Mind: The Conflicted Voter in a Changing World By Mark Baldassare Sep 1, 2002 Based on the findings of the most comprehensive public opinion surveys in the state, this volume focuses on the political climate in California at the turn of the century-a climate that was and still is largely influenced by Californians' deeply ingrained distrust of government and lack of faith in elected officials. The state's electricity crisis, recent corporate scandals, and current state budget deficit have only served to deepen this distrust. Baldassare offers examples of the ways in which voter distrust distorts the state's policymaking efforts and hampers California's ability to prepare for its challenging future. He shows how distrust is being expressed today in the ballot choices voters are making in statewide elections, the demands they are making for reform of government, and the restrictions they are imposing on government in the absence of that reform.
Occasional Paper, Report Signing Initiative Petitions Online: Possibilities, Problems, and Prospects By Walter Baer Jan 22, 2001 Prepared for The Speaker's Commission on The California Initiative Process, January 22, 2001.
At Issue, Report California’s Post-Partisan Future By Mark Baldassare Jan 16, 2008 PPIC's At Issue series focuses on issues important for California now and in the future. In this issue, PPIC president and CEO Mark Baldassare offers a straightforward, nonpartisan assessment of California’s partisan divide—detailing the demographic and ideological differences between Democratic and Republican voters. He also takes a closer look at the growing numbers of “decline to state” or independent voters and assesses their increased importance in California elections. Finally, he considers the consequences of the state’s partisan divide and offers suggestions for engaging more independent voters in the future.
Statewide Survey Facing Facts: Public Attitudes and Fiscal Realities in Five Stressed States Oct 7, 2010 A survey in five of the nation’s most fiscally stressed states reveals a disconnect between what the public wants from state government and budget realities. Residents in Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, and New York believe their states could spend less without cutting services. They want to protect K-12 education and Medicaid funding—by far the biggest portions of state budgets. They prefer charging someone else— wealthy corporations, smokers, drinkers, and gamblers—to ensure essential government services. But even these increases would likely be insufficient to close severe budget gaps. This survey was co-published by the Pew Center on the States and Public Policy Institute of California. Any text or graphics taken from the multistate survey should jointly credit the Pew Center on the States and Public Policy Institute of California, 2010.
Statewide Survey PPIC Statewide Survey: Californians and Healthy Communities By Mark Baldassare, Dean Bonner, Sonja Petek, Nicole Willcoxon Feb 9, 2011 Some findings of the current survey: Californians have generally positive views of their health, with 80 percent calling it good to excellent. Most say that health care services in their communities should emphasize prevention more than treatment. Nearly all say universal health care for children is important in preventing illness. 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 California Endowment.
