blog post New Reforms at California Community Colleges By Olga Rodriguez Nov 8, 2018 New reforms in California's community colleges could make placement policies more uniform and transparent, with potential to improve student outcomes and narrow achievement gaps.
blog post Poverty Varies across California’s Regions By Patricia Malagon Feb 23, 2023 The expansion of the social safety net during COVID-19 contributed to a decline in statewide poverty between 2019 and fall 2021, according to the most recent California Poverty Measure (CPM). However, poverty rates vary widely across counties and legislative districts.
blog post Understanding the Geography of California’s Final Redistricting Maps By Eric McGhee, Jennifer Paluch Jan 19, 2022 California’s Citizens Redistricting Commission recently approved final political districts for the state. How well do these new districts align with the commission’s key geographic goals, such as keeping existing jurisdictions intact?
blog post Assessing the Top Two Primary By Eric McGhee Jun 9, 2016 How is the top two primary faring? There will be 22 same-party races this election cycle, similar to but slightly lower than the 25 in 2014 and 28 in 2012.
Occasional Paper, Report Expanding California’s Technology Sector By Jon D. Haveman Nov 21, 2002 Testimony before the Assembly Subcommittee on Information Technology and the California World Trade Commission, Manny Diaz and John Morris, co-Chairs, November 21, 2002.
blog post Testimony: Bail and Pretrial Detention By Sonya Tafoya Feb 19, 2016 California’s median bail amount is five times higher than the rest of the nation. Its large urban counties are also more likely than similar counties in the US to hold unsentenced defendants in jail pending trial.
blog post Testimony: Funding to Promote Drought Resilience By Ellen Hanak Mar 27, 2014 PPIC senior fellow Ellen Hanak gave the Assembly Budget Subcommittee for Resources and Transportation an overview of state and federal emergency drought funding and suggested other fiscal measures that the legislature should consider to make California more drought resilient.
Report Test-driving California’s Election Reforms By Eric McGhee, Daniel Krimm Sep 13, 2012 In the June 2012 primary, California tested two important electoral changes: new legislative and congressional districts drawn by an independent citizens commission and a "top two" primary system. The results suggest the reforms produced some changes—in particular, more open seats and more competition. However, there was also a great deal of continuity with recent elections: most candidates endorsed by a major party and all incumbents are advancing to the fall election and partisan outcomes were broadly in line with what might have been expected under the old primary system. Over time, the reforms may produce more radical change, but the first step on the road of reform has been a small one.
event Broadening Access to Transfer-Level Courses at California’s Community Colleges Oct 8, 2019 The California Community Colleges are undertaking a range of efforts to boost the number of students earning degrees and transferring to four-year universities. Assembly Bill (AB) 705, which focuses on getting students into transfer-level courses, is an especially important reform. What kind of changes might we expect to see in the AB 705 era?
data set Poverty across California, 2023 Oct 18, 2023 This data set contains information on poverty from the first quarter of 2023 for all of California’s counties, congressional districts, state senate districts, and state assembly districts, calculated according to the California Poverty Measure (CPM).