In November 2020, Californians will vote on Proposition 20 ("Prop 20"), a ballot initiative that would roll back key elements of the state's recent justice reforms, including Public Safety Realignment, Proposition 47, and Proposition 57 (AB 109, 2011; Prop 47, 2014; Prop 57; 2016; SOS, 2018). In recent years, the Center on Juvenile and…

In Fiscal Year 2015-16, the California Children and Families Act has appropriated an average of $440 per child from the state tobacco tax revenue to support early development of children ages 0-5. Based on the proportion of live births in each county, First 5 Kern administered over $10 million of the state funding to support 41 programs in Child…

Scientific discoveries repeatedly confirmed the importance of brain growth during the first 5 years of child life. To support early childhood development, California voters passed Proposition 10 in 1998 to collect a 50 cent per pack tax on cigarettes and other tobacco products. Kern County Children and Families Commission (First 5 Kern) was…

The Governor's proposed 2009-10 budget for California postsecondary education seeks to close a two-year deficit of nearly $42 billion. The budget proposes $17.4 billion in spending reductions for 2008-09 and 2009-10, and proposes $14.3 billion in new revenues through tax and fee increases. The budget also assumes $10 billion in external borrowing…

The California Supreme Court catalyzed school finance litigation with its rulings in the "Serrano v. Priest" cases. The court's required that wealth-related spending differences essentially be eliminated, the legislation required to implement that decision, and the passage of Proposition 13's property tax limitation has resulted in…