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States withdraw money from budget stabilization funds primarily to counter unexpected drops in revenue. Pew research has found, however, that most states do not consider revenue fluctuations in determining how and when to deposit money into their reserve funds. According to “Managing Uncertainty,” Pew’s report on strategies to smooth revenue volatility, only a dozen states, including Massachusetts, Texas, Virginia, and Utah, link deposits directly to unexpected surges in volatile tax streams. California could join this list of states if Gov. Brown’s proposal passes.

The decisions made in all of the areas discussed in this analysis could result in changes to the six states’ demographics and economy, both initially and over time. For example, differing policies could result in migration or different settlement patterns initially. Over the longer term, the states’ economic development and other policies could alter their respective economies. The exact nature of these changes, both initially and over time, is unknown.

On February 11th, 2014, The Solar Foundation released its first-ever district-level “deep dive” into solar employment in California, Arizona, and Minnesota. The research behind these three seminal reports (linked below) was performed using the same survey-based methods developed for our award-winning National Solar Jobs Census series. In addition to the release of these reports, TSF provided updated estimates of solar employment in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Every major economic sector in the state will need to play an increasing role in this effort. Success will require the creation of new policies in some sectors, and expanding and refining existing policies in others.

We also find that the plan raises some important policy issues related to the financing and maintenance of state infrastructure and serves as a valuable starting point for legislative discussions. However, we note that the plan does not include some key information and suggest some changes that could make the plan more helpful to the Legislature. In addition, given the size of the state’s infrastructure investments and their long-term nature, we recommend that the Legislature take a more active role in considering infrastructure in a comprehensive way.

About 16.8 million people moved into a different county within a year in the U.S., between 2007 and 2011, with the most common county-to-county moves being from Los Angeles to San Bernardino, Calif. (41,764 people) and Los Angeles to Orange, Calif. (an estimated 40,764), according to U. S. Census Bureau data released today.

The California State Transportation Agency has released the California Transportation Infrastructure Priorities (CTIP workgroup vision and interim recommendations document. Last year’s budget directed the new Transportation Agency to work with stakeholders to develop funding priorities and long-term funding options. The workgroup examined the current status of the state’s transportation system and discussed challenges that lie ahead. The interim recommendations offers both a vision for California’s transportation future and a set of immediate action items toward achieving that vision that are centered on the concepts of preservation, innovation, integration, reform and funding.

The Governor announced today that California has grown 1 million jobs since 2010. This is a significant and long awaited accomplishment for those who have suffered economically over the past 6 years.

The state’s fiscal history is riddled with budgets that made permanent obligations— both spending increases and tax cuts — based on temporary revenue increases. After these spikes in revenues disappeared — as they always do— the state was forced to cut programs and raise taxes. This Budget seeks to avoid this unproductive boom‑and‑bust cycle. Instead of using one‑time revenues to spend on permanent programs, it instead uses that money to make the state’s first deposit into its Rainy Day Fund since 2007, repay money owed to our schools, pay off the Economic Recovery Bonds sold to balance the budget in 2004, and make one‑time investments to shore up the state’s aging infrastructure. This Budget also proposes a constitutional amendment to strengthen California’s Rainy Day Fund so we can pay off our longer term liabilities and be prepared for any future decreases in revenue.

Los Angeles is barely treading water while the rest of the world is moving forward. We risk falling further behind in adapting to the realities of the 21st century and becoming a City in decline.

January 8, 2014 marks the 50th anniversary of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s declaration of an unconditional War on Poverty, made during his 1964 State of the Union address. Although poverty remains a reality for millions of Californians, the last half-century has shown the key role that public policies can play in reducing poverty and fostering economic security. With state policymakers set to begin crafting a new state budget, this Budget Brief looks at poverty in the Golden State and discusses some ways that policymakers can help reduce economic hardship and expand pathways to opportunity and advancement.

This summary report on the 2013 Summit lays out the background behind the Summit and gives a roundup of Summit commitments, a collection of some of the best thinking from across the state about how to drive sustainable economic growth in California.

SBE Council has published the state Index for 18 years, which ranks the 50 states according to 47 different policy measures, including a wide array of tax, regulatory and government spending measurements. – See more at: http://www.sbecouncil.org/2013/12/12/sbe-council-ranks-the-50-states-in-small-business-policy-index-2013/#sthash.aygbaj8z.dpuf

Real GDP rose 3.6 percent after rising 2.5 percent in the second quarter. Business investment and state and local government spending picked up, and imports slowed. Consumer spending slowed.

State personal income growth slowed slightly to 1.1 percent in the third quarter of 2013, from 1.2 percent in the second quarter, according to estimates released today by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Growth slowed in 25 states, accelerated in 22, and was unchanged in 3 states and the District of Columbia. Growth across states ranged from 0.4 percent in New Mexico to 1.9 percent in Mississippi. The national price index for personal consumption expenditures increased 0.5 percent in the third quarter after remaining unchanged in the second quarter.