CBP Issues Statement on Governor’s May Revision: Significant Progress, Critical Challenges Remain

May 14, 2013

The CBP has released the following statement from Executive Director Chris Hoene in response to this morning’s release of Governor Jerry Brown’s May Revision to his proposed 2013-14 budget:

“Today’s May Revision improves on the Governor’s January budget proposal in some key ways, while also underscoring the daunting challenges still facing our state. The May Revision moves California toward a state-led expansion of Medi-Cal and affirms the Governor’s proposal to restructure school finance to provide additional dollars for districts with high concentrations of disadvantaged students. At the same time, the Governor’s revised budget reflects an outlook for the coming year that’s worse than expected, due to recent federal actions and weak economic growth. And this is with poverty and long-term unemployment still high in the wake of the Great Recession, and with a safety net and critical employment services severely weakened by recent years’ spending cuts. The budget realities underlying the May Revision show why California needs to work toward a long-term approach that strengthens state and local revenues and makes the necessary investments in our economy and our communities.”

# # #

Tomorrow, the CBP will release its initial analysis of the May Revision, highlighting key changes and important new policy proposals — and the issues they raise for the state budget debate. The CBP will also release additional commentary and analysis in the days that follow.

— Steven Bliss

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New CBP Video: Our State Budget Is a Local Budget

August 16, 2012

The CBP is very pleased to launch a series of brief online videos, part of our ongoing effort to make our research and analysis available to a broad audience. The video series is intended to highlight key issues and trends related to budget policy as well as their implications for individuals, families, and communities.

In this first video, Senior Policy Analyst Scott Graves discusses the importance of the state budget to communities across California and explains how a large share of the budget flows to individuals, schools and colleges, and various other resources and services at the local level.

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CBP Board Announces New Executive Director

August 7, 2012

This message from Paul Rosenstiel, Chair of the CBP Board of Directors, was sent out via email the morning of August 7.

Dear Friends:

On behalf of the CBP Board of Directors, I am very pleased to announce that we have hired nationally known policy analyst Christopher Hoene as our new executive director. Chris will assume his duties on October 1.

An expert researcher and analyst with strong California ties, Chris is a proven leader and comes to the CBP with a strong vision for how our work informs the policy debate in California. Chris’s impressive background and his commitment to the CBP’s values make him ideally suited to sustaining the organization’s high standards for relevance and quality and to taking its work forward at a critical time for California.

Chris currently serves as director of the Center for Research & Innovation at the National League of Cities in Washington, DC. He has been at the Center for the past 11 years — the last five as director — and has guided its substantial growth as well as its emergence as a nationally respected resource on issues such as fiscal policy, community and economic development, housing, and immigration. Chris has also held positions at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the Public Policy Institute of California.

Chris has in-depth knowledge of issues that are central to the CBP’s work. He has a Ph.D. in political science from Claremont Graduate University, where his dissertation looked at Proposition 13 of 1978 and its long-term impacts on public finance at the state and local levels. Also, he has conducted or led extensive research on the interplay of state and local fiscal structures, a foundational issue for public policy in California.

In Chris, we have hired an outstanding individual, superb analyst, and top-notch manager to lead the CBP. I am grateful to my colleagues on the Board of Directors for being highly engaged in the executive director search process. Thanks also to Laura Hogan, the CBP’s interim executive director, for her excellent stewardship of the organization during the transition.

Over the coming months, you’ll learn more about Chris’s vision for the CBP and for public policies that improve the lives of low- and middle-income Californians. All of us at the CBP appreciate your interest in our work, and we look forward to your continued involvement.

Sincerely,

Paul A. Rosenstiel, Chair
CBP Board of Directors

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A Personal Thank You From Jean Ross

March 28, 2012

As I head east to my new position at the Ford Foundation, I want to offer one last “thank you” for the kind wishes since the announcement of my departure, as well as your support and friendship over the past 17 years. I will continue to work for budgets and public policies that improve the lives of the American people, particularly low-income and vulnerable populations. I am leaving the CBP in excellent hands, particularly with the addition of Laura Hogan as interim executive director. I depart with some degree of optimism: 2012 offers Californians the opportunity to stabilize the state’s financial condition and lay the foundation for restoring the luster to the Golden State. I hope to remain an active part of your world and hope that we will continue to work together toward our shared goal of ensuring that the public sector has adequate resources and that government decision-making is open and accessible and encourages broad participation by the general public.

– Jean Ross

Read Jean’s farewell published by Calbuzz today here.

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A Letter From Executive Director Jean Ross

February 6, 2012

Dear Friends:

I am writing with both excitement and sadness. I will be leaving the California Budget Project (CBP) to accept a position at the Ford Foundation as the US Program Officer for Transparent, Effective, and Accountable Government at the end of March.

My 17 years with the CBP have been incredibly rewarding. From day one, my goal has been to build a lasting organizational capacity to engage in timely, credible, and accessible analysis of fiscal and economic policies and their impact on California that is much greater than any one individual. I leave my position confident in the ability of the CBP’s staff, with the strong support of the organization’s board, to continue to produce the insightful analyses that policymakers, advocates, members of the media, and thousands of other Californians have come to depend on.

If you read the “author” box of our recent policy reports on how the state spends its money, income inequality, or school funding, you will appreciate the breadth and depth of the staff of the CBP. They are tremendously talented and mission driven. I hope that you will give them the same trust and support that I have always enjoyed. The CBP’s board of directors will conduct a broad search to identify a leader who will continue the organization’s essential work.

I want to thank my coworkers for their outstanding work; the CBP’s board for its commitment and support; our funders – large and small – for investing in our collective goals; and all of the dedicated Californians who I have had the opportunity to work with over nearly two decades. All of you are truly the best California has to offer. You inspire me, and you are our state’s future.

In accepting my position with the Ford Foundation, I hope to take the lessons I’ve learned at the CBP and from my friends and colleagues throughout California and the country to, in the words of the job description for my new position, “ensure that federal and state governments effectively address the needs of the American people, especially the most vulnerable; that the public sector has adequate resources and revenue to accomplish this; and that government decision-making is open and accessible and encourages broad participation by the general public.” In other words, to advance the same goals and values that are at the core of the mission and daily work of the CBP.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity. While I will be relocating across the country, professionally, I am not moving far. I hope that our paths continue to cross.

With much admiration and respect,

Jean Ross

P.S. I hope to personally thank as many of you as possible for making my time here at the CBP so rewarding. One way to ensure that I have the opportunity to do so is for you to attend our March 15 annual policy conference – yes this is a shameless promotion. Let me assure you that I am committed to making this year’s conference our best ever!

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