blog post Dividing California’s Higher Education Pie By Hans Johnson, Kevin Cook Jan 20, 2015 The debate over higher education funding could benefit from a clearer understanding of how the money is divided.
blog post Local Water Funding in the June Primaries By Ellen Hanak, Emma Freeman Jun 18, 2014 Results of the June primary illustrate the challenges in the way California funds critical water services.
blog post Who Likes Proposition 13? By Mark Baldassare May 29, 2014 Proposition 13’s supporters are shaping our fiscal choices today—even though many were not old enough to vote when the measure passed 36 years ago.
blog post Reforming Proposition 13 By Mark Baldassare Mar 19, 2014 In the current legislative session there has been a movement toward making changes in the Proposition 13 tax limits that voters approved in 1978.
Statewide Survey PPIC Statewide Survey: Californians and the Future By Mark Baldassare, Dean Bonner, Sonja Petek, Jui Shrestha Dec 5, 2012 Some findings of the current survey: Californians show signs of optimism about the state’s future. Strong majorities support spending reforms; smaller majorities support lowering the vote thresholds to pass state and local taxes. Californians favor a "split roll” property tax but express record-high opposition to taxing services or increasing the vehicle license fee. 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 S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, The San Francisco Foundation, The David and Susan Coulter Family Foundation, and the Walter S. Johnson Foundation.
Report School Finance By Margaret Weston Nov 14, 2012 There is broad consensus that California's school finance system is inequitable, inadequate, and overly complex. In response to these critiques, this year Governor Jerry Brown proposed an overhaul of our school finance system. Also, two initiatives on the November ballot asked voters to increase education funding through tax increases: voters approved Proposition 30, which was integral to the governor's budget plan, and rejected Proposition 38, a citizens' initiative. Despite the passage of Proposition 30, California faces many school finance challenges. This report provides an overview of the state's school finance system and outlines some longstanding school finance issues that may be in play next year.
