December 4, 2015
It has been an exciting few months as Chair of the organization. All of the energy and excitement surrounding qualifying the State School Bond Initiative for the November 7, 2016, general election ballot, and now transitioning to campaigning, has reminded me that C.A.S.H. has the strength of our members to make the bond measure succeed.
06/01/15
The May Revision and State Budget Activities
The Governor released his May Revision budget update on Thursday, May 14, 2015, and the
Legislature is currently reviewing, reconciling, and finalizing budget actions in order to
meet the constitutional deadline to pass a budget by June 15. The Governor estimates an
additional $6.7 billion in revenues above the January proposal across three fiscal years
(2013-14, 2014-15, and 2015-16), $5.5 billion of which are proposed to go to K-12 and
community colleges under Proposition 98. The Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO)
estimates revenues approximately $3 billion above the Governor, who is known for making
very conservative estimates in order to maintain a fiscally prudent approach and minimize
new spending.
05/28/15
Today the Legislature met a significant deadline that required them to act on bills with a potential state fiscal impact. Today the Senate and Assembly Appropriations Committees took up the “suspense file,” acting on a number of bills with school facilities implications. When bills are initially heard in the Appropriations Committee, the Committee will often defer action, sending bills to suspense. This is a mechanism whereby each house collects and prioritizes bills with state fiscal implications, acting upon them at a later date. Bills that are “held” in the Appropriations Committee at this point in time will likely not be moving forward through the legislative process for the remainder of the year; they become “two-year bills” with the opportunity to move again at the beginning of 2016.
05/12/15
Legislative Update
May 2015
The Legislature just passed a very important deadline: May 1 was the last day for policy committees to hear and pass bills with potential fiscal implications. Most bills are now pending in the Appropriations Committee in their house of origin and must be passed out of that committee by May 29. Bills are then considered by the full Senate or Assembly and Senate bills must be passed out of the Senate and Assembly bills passed out of the Assembly by June 5.