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Energy, the economy and the environment – the three are inextricably linked. Energy prices impact the economy, but energy production impacts the environment.

This important interrelationship was understood to be fundamental to the formation of energy policy when each of us served as governor of California. It was true then, and it is true now. Because of this, effective energy policy in our state requires a careful balancing of coequal economic and environmental interests.

The California travel industry expanded for the fourth consecutive year following the 2007-2009 recession. In terms of both employment and real inflation-adjusted dollars, the California travel industry exceeded its pre-recession levels in 2013.

California’s overall clean economy continues to create new jobs and business opportunities across diverse sectors, ranging from water efficiency and recycling to energy and battery technologies. Between January 2002 and January 2012, employment in California’s Core Clean Economy jumped 20 percent to reach nearly 196,000. During the same time period, jobs in the larger overall state economy grew by two percent

With regard to the 2014-15 budget, we project that if the Legislature adopts the Governor’s May Revision, the state would end 2014-15 with $3 billion in the state’s two budget reserves: the Budget Stabilization Account (BSA) established by Proposition 58 (2004) and the state’s traditional reserve, the Special Fund for Economic Uncertainties (SFEU). This total is roughly $850 million higher than the administration’s estimate for these reserves ($2.1 billion).

But recent research shows that dynamism is slowing down. Business churning and new firm formations have been on a persistent decline during the last few decades, and the pace of net job creation has been subdued. This decline has been documented across a broad range of sectors in the U.S. economy, even in high-tech.

Low-wage and mid-wage workers still earned signifi cantly less in 2013 than before the Great Recession began, after adjusting for infl ation. This wage erosion continues a decades-long trend of widening wage inequality.

This report categorizes and provides information about $340 billion in California’s key retirement, infrastructure, and budgetary liabilities. In addition, this report provides a framework for the Legislature to consider in prioritizing repayment of these liabilities and makes recommendations on which liabilities to pay down first and how the state could address such costs in the future.

Tribal gaming operations in California generated an estimated $8 billion in economic output in 2012 – $2.9 billion of which represented earnings by California workers – and supported over 56,000 jobs statewide. The 2012 operations had a roughly 7%-7.5% larger impact on California economic activity than in 2010.

It has become increasingly clear that economically, California is becoming increasingly divided between its prosperous coastal counties and its struggling inland counties. That split has made it important for the state’s leaders to recognize that policies that appear to make sense to those representing the state’s successful areas may be generating unintended negative consequences to the parts of the state outside of their frame of reference.

The oil and gas industry makes a significant contribution to the Californian economy. Extraction, production, refining and petroleum products manufacturing result in highly tradable products both consumed domestically and exported, producing high revenues, high wage jobs and significant fiscal revenues for all levels of government. In this report, the Economic and Policy Analysis Group of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC) conducts an industry contribution analysis of the oil and gas industry in California in 2012.

As the nation’s second largest city, Los Angeles has a vibrant culture, a diverse population and a strong economy. The city is not only the largest entertainment capital in the world, but also the nation’s largest manufacturing center and retail market, a major tourist destination and financial center, and home to one of the world’s busiest ports.

For nearly two decades, the Tax Foundation has published an estimate of the combined state and local tax burden shouldered by the residents of each of the fifty states, regardless of the jurisdictions to which those taxes are paid. We argue that it is important to note that a taxpayer’s true tax burden must include the substantial taxes they pay directly or indirectly to out-of-state governments.

The state of California will implement a strategy to expand international trade and foreign investment that will create jobs, increase revenues for California enterprises, and improve California’s international competitiveness; and which is also in concert with protecting the environment and promoting sustainable development.

This study presents detailed state-by-state estimates of the state and local taxes paid by businesses for FY2012. It is the 11th annual report prepared by EY in conjunction with the Council On State Taxation (COST).

To put the CT in context, we note that these tax payments represent a small portion of the overall tax burden borne by California businesses. According to a study of 2011-12 business taxes by the Council on State Taxation—a trade association of multistate corporations—corporate income taxes made up only about 10 percent of the entire amount of state and local taxes paid by California businesses. The two largest taxes paid by businesses—property taxes and sales taxes—were each much larger than the total amount of state corporate income taxes.

. . . Census data shows that in 2012, 7.1 percent of California’s overall state tax revenues came from corporate income taxes. . . . This is an above-average share of state tax revenues derived from corporate income taxes. Specifically, the average share among the 50 states was 5.1 percent of tax revenues.