Smart Revenue and Budget Systems

California's fiscal system does not ensure that priorities are funded, that performance of public programs improve over time, or that the public understands whether their tax dollars are being well spent.

The fiscal and management systems suffer from the following problems:

1. California's tax system does not provide reliable income that is aligned with the economy.
2. California's budget process does not establish explicit goals, drive performance by public agencies, or provide accountability for progress to policy-makers or the public.

California Forward will champion reforms that produce a fair and reliable revenue system and a budget process that links spending decisions to results and creates accountability for outcomes.

Project: Building Better Budgets and Improving Fiscal Management

California Forward has launched a project to improve California's budget process.  This project is designed to implement reforms that will:

1. build broader agreement on priorities and goals;
   
2. enable policy-makers to better manage fluctuating revenue, control costs, direct dollars at evidence-based strategies and make better long-term decisions; and,
3. restore public confidence that public resources are well spent.

This project has four components:

Legislative Study Group.  Legislators are meeting periodically to discuss problems with the current budget process from their perspectives and identify ways to improve how they develop, adopt and oversee state spending plans.

Public Choice Dialogues.  California Forward is using this public research method to identify common public values and beliefs that can be used to guide state fiscal reforms.

Agenda Setting/Civic Engagement.  Throughout the state, California Forward is convening and participating in public events to share and receive input on a set of Principles of Reform, discuss examples of successful reforms that have happened in other states and at the local government level to build broad public agreement and expectations around budget reform. 

Proposal Development.  Based on the work above, California Forward will assess avenues for reform and identify specific reform proposals that reflect bi-partisan values, have broad public support and that will result in a budget process that will help California address it's most pressing needs.

Planning for additional components is underway. 

Lessons from California's past governors

• PETE WILSON:  Timing, temperament and a lot of help from his friends (by Greg Lucas)
  
• PAT BROWN:  The big government man (by Ethan Rarick)
• EARL WARREN:  A champion of the center (by Jim Newton)
• RONALD REAGAN:  The triumph of pragmatism (by Lou Cannon with a postscript by Beacon Economics)

What you can do—

• Review the Principles for Reform.
• Share your comments with us.
• Sign-up for email notifications.

In the future, we will be exploring a number of potential governance issues, including some of the ideas that previous reform efforts have considered.  Among them:

Tax system reforms that better align revenues and the changing economy, as well as control over revenues and the level of government responsible for administering programs.

Fiscal planning improvements that enable the state to better manage volatile revenues and the fluctuating demand for services, as well as to control costs and increase value over time through prudent policy choices and effective programs.

Fiscal-related initiative reforms that reduce the ability of ballot-box budgeting to undermine sound fiscal planning, while enhancing the public's ability to make significant fiscal decisions.