http://www.lao.ca.govThe latest Publications, Initiatives and Propositions from the Legislative Analyst's OfficePublications/HandoutsPresented to Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 2 On Education Financehttp://www.lao.ca.gov/laoapp/PubDetails.aspx?id=1831Wed, 21 May 2008 13:00:00 GMTPublications/HandoutsPresented to Senate Budget Subcommittee No. 1 on Educationhttp://www.lao.ca.gov/laoapp/PubDetails.aspx?id=1830Wed, 21 May 2008 13:00:00 GMTPublications/HandoutsElizabeth Hill discusses the LAO's Overview of the 2007-08 May Revision.http://www.lao.ca.gov/laoapp/PubDetails.aspx?id=1829Mon, 19 May 2008 13:00:00 GMTPublications/HandoutsThe state faces a remaining budget shortfall of $15 billion, after accounting for the $7 billion in solutions adopted as part of the special session. We have updated our LAO alternative budget, which remains balanced through our forecast period, to reflect the state’s worsening fiscal situation. Our plan includes a more responsible lottery securitization—resulting in a General Fund benefit of $5.6 billion over two years—with a dramatically reduced risk to education’s lottery funding. Finally, we offer some much simpler approaches to increasing the size of the state’s reserve in good fiscal times.http://www.lao.ca.gov/laoapp/PubDetails.aspx?id=1828Mon, 19 May 2008 13:00:00 GMTPublications/HandoutsDo University Students' Fees Support Financial Aid? (updated May 2008) This is one of a series of issue briefs examining important questions about higher education funding in California. For more information on this topic, or to request other briefs from this series, contact the Legislative Analyst’s Office Higher Education section at (916) 319-8349, or visit our website at www.lao.ca.gov/highered.http://www.lao.ca.gov/laoapp/PubDetails.aspx?id=1827Wed, 14 May 2008 13:00:00 GMTPublications/HandoutsPresented to Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 1 on Educationhttp://www.lao.ca.gov/laoapp/PubDetails.aspx?id=1825Tue, 13 May 2008 13:00:00 GMTPublications/HandoutsPresented to Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 2 On Resources, Environmental Protection, and Energyhttp://www.lao.ca.gov/laoapp/PubDetails.aspx?id=1826Tue, 13 May 2008 13:00:00 GMTPublications/HandoutsPresented to the California Association of School Business Officials.http://www.lao.ca.gov/laoapp/PubDetails.aspx?id=1824Mon, 12 May 2008 13:00:00 GMTPublications/HandoutsPresented to: Hon. Patty Berghttp://www.lao.ca.gov/laoapp/PubDetails.aspx?id=1813Mon, 12 May 2008 13:00:00 GMTPublications/HandoutsHow Do Student Fees Contribute to Public University Funding?This is one of a series of issue briefs examining important questions about higher education funding in California. For more information on this topic, or to request other briefs from this series, contact the Legislative Analyst’s Office Higher Education section at (916) 319-8349, or visit our website at www.lao.ca.gov/highered.http://www.lao.ca.gov/laoapp/PubDetails.aspx?id=1823Thu, 08 May 2008 13:00:00 GMTInitiatives/PropositionsThis measure amends the State Constitution to (1) constrain state and local governments’ authority to take private property and (2) phase out rent control. The measure also might constrain government’s authority to implement certain other programs and laws, such as mandatory inclusionary housing programs and tenant relocation benefits. The measure’s provisions apply to all governmental agencies.http://www.lao.ca.gov/laoapp/ballot_source/BalDetails.aspx?id=696Tue, 03 Jun 2008 13:00:00 GMTInitiatives/PropositionsThis constitutional amendment limits state and local government’s use of eminent domain in certain circumstances. Specifically, the measure prohibits government from using eminent domain to take a single-family home (including a condominium) for the purpose of transferring it to another private party (such as a person, business, or association). This prohibition, however, would not apply if government was taking the home under certain specified circumstances.http://www.lao.ca.gov/laoapp/ballot_source/BalDetails.aspx?id=697Tue, 03 Jun 2008 13:00:00 GMTInitiatives/PropositionsThis measure would amend the Constitution and state law to establish a state-funded umbilical cord blood bank and adult stem cell research center that would also facilitate the adoption of embryos.http://www.lao.ca.gov/laoapp/ballot_source/BalDetails.aspx?id=706Tue, 15 Apr 2008 13:00:00 GMTInitiatives/PropositionsThis measure requires redevelopment agencies to obtain approval by two-thirds of their county’s voters before pledging property tax increment revenues to pay a new bond, loan, advance, or other indebtedness.http://www.lao.ca.gov/laoapp/ballot_source/BalDetails.aspx?id=705Tue, 25 Mar 2008 13:00:00 GMTInitiatives/PropositionsThis measure allows, with certain restrictions, the legal cultivation, possession, use, transportation, and sale of marijuana.http://www.lao.ca.gov/laoapp/ballot_source/BalDetails.aspx?id=704Mon, 24 Mar 2008 13:00:00 GMTInitiatives/PropositionsThis measure amends Section 51500 of the Education Code to remove “promotes a discriminatory bias because of a characteristic listed in Section 220” and replace it with “reflects adversely upon persons because of their race, sex, color, creed, disability, national origin, religion, or ancestry.” As a result, the measure removes the prohibition against instruction that reflects adversely or promotes discrimination against persons because of their sexual orientation.http://www.lao.ca.gov/laoapp/ballot_source/BalDetails.aspx?id=701Thu, 20 Mar 2008 13:00:00 GMTInitiatives/PropositionsThe average retail price of a pack of cigarettes currently is roughly $4.25 in California, including all taxes. This measure increases the existing excise tax on cigarettes by 75 cents per pack effective May 1, 2009. Existing state law requires the Board of Equalization (BOE) to increase taxes on other tobacco products—such as loose tobacco and snuff—in an amount equivalent to any increase in the tax on cigarettes. Thus, this measure would also result in a comparable increase in the excise tax on other tobacco products. All of the additional tobacco revenues (including those on other tobacco products) would be used to support various new and existing programs specified in this measure.http://www.lao.ca.gov/laoapp/ballot_source/BalDetails.aspx?id=703Wed, 19 Mar 2008 13:00:00 GMTInitiatives/PropositionsThe average retail price of a pack of cigarettes currently is roughly $4.25 in California, including all taxes. This measure increases the existing excise tax on cigarettes by 75 cents per pack effective January 1, 2009. Existing state law requires the Board of Equalization (BOE) to increase taxes on other tobacco products—such as loose tobacco and snuff—in an amount equivalent to any increase in the tax on cigarettes. Thus, this measure would also result in a comparable increase in the excise tax on other tobacco products. All of the additional tobacco revenues (including those on other tobacco products) are intended to be used to support various new and existing programs specified in this measure.http://www.lao.ca.gov/laoapp/ballot_source/BalDetails.aspx?id=702Fri, 14 Mar 2008 13:00:00 GMTInitiatives/PropositionsThis measure would amend the State Constitution to fefine a viable fetus as one who “has attained sufficient development of organs as to be capable of living outside the uterus of the mother, with or with-out life support,” and state that a fetus would be presumed viable at 24 weeks and prohibit abortions on viable fetuses unless the mother’s life was endangered by certain physical conditions.http://www.lao.ca.gov/laoapp/ballot_source/BalDetails.aspx?id=698Wed, 12 Mar 2008 13:00:00 GMTInitiatives/PropositionsThis measure would amend the State Constitution to make it unlawful to perform or attempt to perform human cloning. This measure would also make it unlawful to buy, sell, transfer or receive any product of human cloning for any purpose. Furthermore, this measure would make it unlawful to buy, sell, transfer, or receive any embryo, fetus, or specified types of human cells for the purpose of human cloning. The measure would also amend the State Constitution and state law to define human cloning and certain other terms in a manner that would likely result in both reproductive cloning and therapeutic cloning being banned.http://www.lao.ca.gov/laoapp/ballot_source/BalDetails.aspx?id=700Tue, 11 Mar 2008 13:00:00 GMTInitiatives/PropositionsThis measure would amend the State Constitution to ban “destructive research” on a human embryo and the sale or transfer of a human embryo or other specified human cells with the knowledge that the material would be used in such research. The measure would also amend the State Constitution and state law to define “destructive research” to be “medical procedures, scientific or laboratory research, or other kinds of investigation that kill or injure the subject of such research.” The measure would exempt from the definition of destructive research in vitro fertilization procedures and diagnostic procedures that may benefit the embryo.http://www.lao.ca.gov/laoapp/ballot_source/BalDetails.aspx?id=699Tue, 11 Mar 2008 13:00:00 GMT