Governor’s Revised Budget Increases Spending on Public Schools

Buoyed by $6.6 billion in higher-than-anticipated tax revenue over two years, Gov. Jerry Brown’s revised budget provides public schools with $3 billion more than his January spending plan and eliminates $2.9 billion in taxes he previously wanted to extend.

The Democratic governor’s updated budget is still contingent on a five-year extension of a 1 cent sales tax increase due to expire this year but the $6.6 billion in higher tax collections took some of the sting out of potential cuts.    Read more »

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State Selects Up To 70 Parks for Closure

(The top of the press release is below. The list of potential closures, which would fall throughout the state, follows. Park closings are a common budget negotiating chit.)

California State Parks today announced a plan to close up to 70 of its 278 parks  due to budget cuts. The closures are necessary to achieve an $11 million reduction in the next fiscal year and $22 million in the fiscal year (beginning July 1, 2012).    Read more »

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First the Cell Phones, Now This. Jeez, Pretty Soon There’ll Be No Plums Left

Governor Brown Proposes to Eliminate Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board

SACRAMENTO – In another move to save taxpayer dollars, Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. has proposed eliminating the Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board.

“Although state revenues have improved because of the underlying strength of California’s business climate, we’re not out of the woods yet – not even close,” Brown said.    Read more »

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Assembly Republicans Offer a Budget Plan Without “Tax Increases”

(Editor’s Note: Normally, news would seem to be if they offered a spending plan with tax increases. However…)

Breaking with past practice, Assembly Republicans offered their own budget solution that proposes to protect public school funding at funding for local law enforcement.

The seven-page summary comes five days before Gov. Jerry Brown issues has revised sending plan.    Read more »

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Some Likely Victims in Gov. Jerry Brown’s Revised Budget

On May 16, Gov. Jerry Brown will present a revised budget plan that he insists will be balanced.

That means after $11.2 billion in spending decreases approved by lawmakers and signed into law by Brown in March, a $15.4 billion hole remains using the Democratic governor’s estimate of the gap between the state’s spending commitments and revenues of $26.6 billion.    Read more »

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Should California’s Smallest School Districts Consolidate?

To save money, California should raise to 100 the minimum number of students to qualify as a school district, according to a study issued May 2 by the Legislative Analyst’s office.

As part of the budget for the current fiscal year, the analyst was required to study whether consolidation of smaller school districts into larger ones would improve student performance and reduce costs.    Read more »

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More Good News Than Bad as April Tax Collections Wind Down

With one day left in the month, April revenue forecasts have exceeded expectations – on both sides of the ledger.

Through April 29, income tax payments were $7.1 billion — $300 million more than projected in Gov. Jerry Brown’s January budget proposal, according to a Franchise Tax Board daily tally.

Bank and corporations tax collections for the month were $27 million short of the budget’s $1.6 billion estimate.    Read more »

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April Tax Receipts Bring Smallish Smiles to State Beancounter Faces

So far, April has brought largely good news to state budget writers.

Through April 27, income tax receipts were slightly above $6.8 billion, the level projected in Gov. Jerry Brown’s January budget proposal.

Requests for refunds, however, were slightly above the expected $2.5 billion, according to a Franchise Tax Board daily  tally.    Read more »

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Drop in State Income Tax Collections for April 21

State income tax collections for April 21 were $528 million – a drop of almost $700 million from the previous day, according to a Franchise Tax Board tally.

The state budget proposed by Gov. Jerry Brown in January predicts income tax collections of $6.8 billion by the 30th.

If collections fail to reach that total, the state’s budget gap – estimated at $26.6 billion by the Democratic governor – will grow.      Read more »

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Nearly a $1.2 Billion Daily Bump in State’s April Income Tax Receipts

With 10 days left in the month, the state moved closer to its goal of collecting $6.8 billion in April income tax payments.

For April 20, the Franchise Tax Board reported collecting $1,196,685 in income tax payments. Since Monday April 18, the state has logged nearly $3.3 billion in tax receipts.    Read more »

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