Sacramento Lo and behold, it’s not just pension reformers and critics of the state’s massive pension funds who are worried about the sustainability of California’s pension systems. At a press conference announcing his proposed budget last week, Gov. Jerry Brown made some astounding comments. “When the next recession comes around,” he said, “the (next) governor...

CLASS WARRIOR: Gov. Brown lobbied state Senate Democrats to approve a $5-billion-a-year boost in gas and vehicle taxes to pay for major road repairs. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)   When Governor Edmund G. “Jerry” Brown enters his sixteenth year as governor of California this January, he will likely ask his magic mirror which is the bluest...

Sacramento — One of California’s burgeoning “new economy” business models is the meal-subscription plan, by which companies such as Blue Apron send recipes and prepackaged gourmet ingredients to subscriber’s homes – everything they need to prepare a fresh meal. It’s great for folks who like to cook, but have little patience for grocery shopping. Blue...

Numerous California elected officials are condemning President-Elect Donald Trump’s proposal of immigration-related conditions for local governments to obtain federal grants. But at the same time, California elected officials are imposing their own union-related conditions for local governments to obtain state grants. Local control is obviously not the principle at issue. There is now a second case in 2016 of a California local government voting to give unions monopoly...

CUSD’s Kirsten Vital  In the space of just a few months, state officials have suddenly turned their attention to a problem in the public-educational shadows: insider dealing among California school district officials and outside vendors. In a January opinion, state Attorney General Kamala Harris concluded that school officials had become too cozy with companies that...

For Immediate Release August 18, 2016 California Policy Center Contact: Will Swaim Will@CalPolicyCenter.org (714) 573-2231 SACRAMENTO — It’s rare that a think-tank study produces real reform, but it happened today when Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law a bill designed to stop school officials before they recklessly spend again. Assembly Bill 2116 began one year ago with...

Most countries around the world think that it’s a good thing to have cheap energy. But in California, we have plenty of cheap energy available, just not the political will to access it. California depends on natural gas-driven turbines and hydroelectric generators to provide just 38 percent of its oil needs. The state imports 12 percent...

According to my father, in the 1950s and ’60s, California had the best transportation agency in the entire world. But all that changed with the election of a new, anti-growth, small-is-beautiful governor by the name of Jerry Brown. Now, fast forward 40 years. Governor Brown, version 2.0, proposes a budget that assumes a big increase...

See the complete California Policy Center report For the Kids: California Voters Must Become Wary of Borrowing Billions More from Wealthy Investors for Educational Construction (complete, printable PDF Version, 4 MB, 361 pages) Links to all sections of this study readable online: Executive Summary: “For the Kids” – Comprehensive Review of California School Bonds (1 of 9)...