Current Studies List
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
Since its enaction in 1970, the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) has been California’s premier piece of environmental legislation. The law requires public agencies and decision-makers to evaluate the environmental impact of a proposed project, determine if the project will have significant impacts on environmental quality, disclose those impacts to the public, and mitigate them to the degree feasible. For more than fifty years, CEQA has played a critical role in promoting environmental quality and encouraging public awareness around land use decisions. However, CEQA has also long been at the center of polarized debate and controversy. The law is subject to intense disagreement over its impact on housing, land use, economic development, and infrastructure. Some critics argue that CEQA impedes the realization of state policy priorities around housing construction, infill development, and addressing climate change. CEQA’s supporters, meanwhile, contend that this argument greatly exaggerates CEQA’s impact and instead point to the law as a vital tool for achieving state environmental goals and advancing environmental justice. In this study, the Commission will survey the debate that surrounds CEQA, examine CEQA’s role in protecting the environment and providing public disclosure, and evaluate the nature and extent of CEQA’s impact on housing, land use, and other issues. The Commission will also explore the present state of the CEQA process and consider whether changes to CEQA or the CEQA process may be merited—and how to best ensure those changes, if needed, preserve the environmental protections and public accountability that the law affords. If you would like more information about this study, please contact Tristan Stein at Tristan. Stein@lhc. ca. gov. To be notified electronically of meetings, events, or when the review is complete, please subscribe to Little Hoover Commission updates: https://bit. ly/LittleHooverNews.
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Master Plan for Aging Implementation
California’s population is aging. In the last ten years, the state’s 65+ population has roughly increased by 42 percent, from 4. 2 million to over 6 million. State projections indicate that in the next decade, one in five Californians will be aged 65 or older. To address the needs of older Californians now and for years to come, Governor Newsom in 2019 issued an Executive Order calling for the development of a Master Plan for Aging. The effort presented a historic opportunity to develop statewide leadership and coordination to address a broad set of challenges facing older Californians, including housing, affordability, health care, long-term care, and social supports. When the Master Plan for Aging was released in 2021, it delineated five broad policy goals accompanied by 23 strategies to mark the state’s progress through 2030. After two years, 228 initiatives have been launched as part of the Master Plan, with involvement from several key agencies within the Administration. In this study the Commission will review early implementation of this important effort to consider whether there are opportunities for improved oversight and accountability and to ensure progress toward the Master Plan’s important goals. If you would like more information about this study, please contact Tamar Foster at Tamar. Foster@lhc. ca. gov. To be notified electronically of meetings, events, or when the review is complete, please subscribe to Little Hoover Commission updates: https://bit. ly/LittleHooverNews. Written testimony from hearing witnesses can be found below in the corresponding event agenda.
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Report Implementation Status Hearing
The Little Hoover Commission will examine the implementation status of its previous reports on two topics -- the state's response to intimate partner violence and to human trafficking for purposes of labor exploitation. The hearing will examine the degree to which the Commission's past recommendations have been implemented, and any changes in the status of the two issues that have increased the importance of the Commission's recommendations. The Commission released three reports on labor trafficking in 2020, and two reports on intimate partner violence in 2020 and 2021.
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Retail Theft
In June 2023, the Commission received a request from the California state legislature to look at issues surrounding state retail theft data. In response, the Commission is holding a series of hearings examining how retail theft and corresponding arrests, filings, and convictions are reported and tracked, and whether there are improvements that could be made to better inform evidence-based decision-making. If you would like more information about this study, please contact Krystal Beckham at Krystal. Beckham@lhc. ca. gov. To be notified electronically of meetings, events, or when the review is complete, please subscribe to Little Hoover Commission updates: https://bit. ly/LittleHooverNews.
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