California Forward, the non-profit group seeking to create a more responsive, representative and cost effective government held a session on the California budget in Sacramento Friday entitled, “Just How Bad Is It?”
One of the panelists was outgoing Legislative Analyst Elizabeth Hill who has been in the thick of the budget battles for over twenty years. Here is some of the thoughts and wisdom dispensed by Hill as she leaves her post:
- California needs to unlock the budget process. 1) Reconsider the budget formulas based on today’s needs, not when they were put in place. Consider what services are required and who should pay for them? 2) Re-examine the initiative process and consider that initiatives that pass need to be altered for changing circumstances. 3) What is the collective vision of California’s future and what investment is needed to achieve that vision?
- While a strategic plan for the budget is advisable, it will not work if an accountability plan does not accompany it. Performance measures won’t work without accountability procedures in place.
- California’s tax system was created decades ago and no longer mirrors California’s economy.
- Proposition 13 is not the cause of California’s budget problems, although the way the state responded to Prop 13 by sending funds to local governments has made it more difficult to establish a state reserve fund.
- While a major part of the budget is controlled by formulas, those formulas can be modified by the Legislature each year (including the school funding mandates of Proposition 98) so it is not correct to say that the state budget is on autopilot.
- The Legislature and Governor deserve credit for adopting a plan for a rainy day budget fund and allowing for mid-year budget cuts in emergencies.
Hill finds herself torn on the issue of requiring a two-thirds vote to pass the budget and raise taxes. For a long time, she said, she believed the two-thirds vote insured a bi-partisan commitment for California’s values and goals. But, given the recent polarization in the legislature, she admitted she was now considering a majority vote may be better, but she had not made up her mind. Hill emphasized this was a personal opinion and not a reflection of the Legislative Analyst’s Office.
Soon, she will have time to give many more personal opinions. Can’t wait for the book.