Roadmap to Reform for California

Publication Date: August 2003

Publisher: Performance Institute; Reason Foundation

Author(s): Kathleen Connell; Bill Baker; Carl DeMaio; George Passantino

Research Area: Economics

Type: Report

Coverage: California

Abstract:

On April 30, 2003, Reason Foundation and the Performance Institute-- two think tanks specializing in government reform--jointly released a Citizens' Budget Plan for balancing California's $38.2 billion budget deficit. The plan presented a myriad of short-term and long-term reforms to state government. To solicit ideas on how to translate the ideas in the Citizens' Budget Plan into action, a bipartisan working group of former state officials was created. As the budget debate dragged on, the officials worked within and across the two major political parties to advance ideas for fundamental reform. While some of the ideas contained in the Citizens' Budget were debated and accepted, the final budget agreement failed to produce the level of fundamental reform necessary to bring the state's budget back into permanent balance. This white paper presents the analysis and recommendations for achieving fundamental reform in light of the recently adopted state budget plan.