CSAC OFFICERS REFER BALLOT MEASURES TO POLICY COMMITTEES
The process for CSAC taking a position on ballot measures begins
with the officers referring measures to policy committees. They
have done so, and the committees will hold special meetings over
the following weeks to consider recommending positions to the
CSAC Board of Directors. The referrals are as follows:
On Friday, July 9, State Controller John Chiang released his
final report on state receipts and disbursements for the 2009-10
fiscal year. The numbers show how much cash moves in and out of
the state’s General Fund each month, and compares it to budget
estimates. In June, cash receipts were about 0.5
percent lower than the 2010 May Revise predicted.
The United States Senate Finance Committee is considering a
proposal that would give a massive tax break to online travel
companies (OTC) by allowing them to under-collect and under-pay
local agencies for transient occupancy taxes. Instead of
calculating the tax based on the room price the consumer pays, as
is customary, they would figure it based on the price the OTC
pays the hotel for the room.
In a move redolent of past accounting gimmicks that saved the
state money, the Budget Conference Committee ended an era
yesterday when it voted to end state reimbursements to local
agencies for following parts of the Brown Act. They unanimously
approved an LAO plan that instead makes certain parts of the
Brown Act more like “safe harbor” provisions for complying with
Proposition 59.
State Controller John Chiang announced today that, for the month
of May, state General Fund revenues are $592.2 million (9.8%)
higher than the budget anticipated. Most of that amount was from
personal income taxes, but percentage-wise corporate income taxes
were the highest above budget expectations.
The Budget Conference Committee started up today amid bipartisan
bickering, concern about cost shifts to counties, and attacks
from all sides on the Assembly Democratic “jobs” budget.
Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor, Dept. of Finance’s Todd Jerue,
and Republican Senator Bob Dutton all jumped on the plan.
This year’s ERAF/Prop. 172 survey is finished and available at
the link below.
Every year CSAC surveys all 58 counties for the money shifted to
ERAF from each county, each city, and special districts. The
survey also asks for Prop. 172 allocations for each county and
the cities in them. The survey covers actual data from the
previous fiscal year and estimated data for the current year.
April’s revenues, like the several months before it, beat budget
estimates, and the state didn’t have to pay out as much as they
thought they would either.
So far this fiscal year, the state’s General Fund (GF) has
collected a little over $60.3 billion, almost $2.3 billion more
than the budget accounted for (that’s edging toward 4% for you
math whizzes).
