Report Views from the Street: Linking Transportation and Land Use By Ellen Hanak, Louise Bedsworth, Elizabeth Stryjewski Feb 16, 2011 California is one of the first states in the nation to set a goal for reducing residents’ driving. This study assesses the response of cities and counties, finding signs for optimism that the state can achieve its goals—as well as obstacles to overcome. This research was supported with funding from The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, as part of the California 2025 project on the state's future.
Report Perceptions of Local Fiscal Stress During a State Budget Crisis By Max Neiman, Daniel Krimm Dec 21, 2009 City and county governments in California have been hit hard by the state’s budgetary and economic difficulties, which have meant high unemployment and cuts to public services. This research details just how local governments are dealing with these fiscal troubles, using a survey of local officials. Among the most common local responses: even more cuts in public services, hiring freezes, and reduced contributions to reserves. This research was supported with funding from the California State Association of Counties.
Report Fiscal Effects of Voter Approval Requirements on Local Governments By Pedro Cerdan, Kim Rueben Jan 27, 2003 This report investigates the ways local governments in California have used the ballot box to raise taxes, assess fees, and pass bond measures. It notes sharp increases in school bond proposals, especially after 2000, when Proposition 39 lowered the voter approval threshold from two-thirds to 55 percent. It also shows how voter reaction to fiscal measures varies according to region, election timing, the type of measure proposed, and the service to be funded. Finally, it suggests that dedicated taxes for popular programs are more likely to garner voter support than a general tax, despite the fact that special taxes require a supermajority for approval. It also notes, however, that this approach may leave some traditional government services, such as libraries and parks, with inadequate funding.
Report Federal Transportation Policy and the Role of Metropolitan Planning Organizations in California By Paul Lewis, Mary Sprague Apr 1, 1997 This book provides an overview of postwar transportation policy at the federal and state levels, focusing in particular on the evolution of metropolitan planning organizations, which have played a major role in urban transportation planning since the early 1960's. The authors examine the regional issues facing urban areas and the effect of intergovernmental relations on transportation planning in California. Although the authors focus specifically on transportation policy, their findings also illuminate a central issue in the devolution of government responsibility - namely, that incentives and outcomes may vary considerably, depending on the level of government making the decisions.
Report Are California’s Fiscal Constraints Institutional or Political? By Bruce E. Cain, George A. Mackenzie Dec 30, 2008 California’s 2008 budget went into effect a record 85 days after its statutory deadline. This brought renewed criticism of the requirement that the budget pass with a legislative supermajority rather than a simple majority. The authors explore this and other constraints on the state’s budget process and find that California has placed more such restrictions on itself than any other state. Dating back to Proposition 13, these restrictions have generally not restrained revenues and expenditures as their authors may have hoped. Instead, state and local officials—and voters—have found ways to raise revenues and spend money by circumventing constraints.
Occasional Paper, Report Representation Without Taxation: Proposition 13 and Local Government in California By David W. Lyon Sep 18, 1998 Text of a speech given to the Municipal Law Symposium, Hastings College Of The Law, San Francisco, California, September 18, 1998.
Occasional Paper, Report From Home Rule to Fiscal Rule: Taking a Measure of Local Government Finance in California By David W. Lyon May 19, 2000 Prepared for the Center for State and Local Taxation Conference on Local Finance Reform, University of California, Davis, May 19, 2000.
Report Proposition 13 in Recession and Recovery By Steven M. Sheffrin, Terri Sexton Sep 1, 1998 Proposition 13 has created wide disparities in property taxes between homes purchased more recently and those owned for many years. Although the steep recession in California from 1991 through 1995 reduced some of these disparities, it also led to a crushing workload for California's understaffed and underfunded property tax assessors' offices. As property taxes fell, hundreds of thousands of residents and businesses filed appeals for reassessment. Many counties are still working through a twelve-to-eighteen month backlog of cases. This report examines disparities in property taxes since the passage of Proposition 13 and the effects on property tax administration in California.
Report Risky Business: Providing Local Public Services in Los Angeles County By Mark Baldassare, Michael A. Shires, Christopher Hoene, Aaron Koffman Apr 1, 2000 Over the past 20 years, California voters have passed a series of ballot initiatives that have sought to limit the taxing and spending powers of their elected officials. Counties in particular have felt the brunt of this fiscal austerity. During the recession of the early 1990s, Los Angeles County came close to a fiscal meltdown; and to this day, the county still faces an uncertain fiscal future. This study identifies the fiscal and organizational strains involved in providing public services in Los Angeles County, describes the system for financing services at different jurisdictional levels, and suggests alternative fiscal and organizational arrangements for service provision. Although the study focuses on Los Angeles County, many of the observations and suggestions would be useful to other counties throughout the state.
Report Has Proposition 13 Delivered? The Changing Tax Burden in California By John Ellwood, Michael A. Shires, Mary Sprague Sep 1, 1998 In 1978, Californians passed Proposition 13, severely restricting the ability of local governments to raise revenue through property taxes. Since then, the voters and public officials have engaged in an almost continual tug-of-war over public finances, with state and local governments seeking creative ways to increase their revenues and taxpayers frequently using the initiative process to prevent new fees and taxes. One of the questions that has arisen in the debate over public finances is whether Proposition 13 has succeeded in reducing the tax burden of Californians. This report answers that question.
