Impact

A three-judge federal district court panel in 2009 cited the Commission’s 2007 report, Solving California’s Corrections Crisis: Time is Running Out, in ordering the state to cap its severely overcrowded prison population at 137.5 percent of bed-design capacity.  The court’s prisoner-release order prompted the state’s historic 2011 “realignment” initiative to sentence non-serious, non-violent or non-sex offenders to county jails instead of state prison.

Governor Brown’s California Public Employees' Pension Reform Act of 2013 – legislation designed to rein in excessive public sector benefits and projected to save taxpayers up to $38 billion over 30 years – included numerous reforms suggested in the Commission’s 2011 report, Public Pensions for Retirement Security.

Commission recommendations in the 2014 report, Governing California Through Climate Change, spurred 2015 legislation designating the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research as the state’s lead coordinating agency on climate change adaptation. As recommended by the Commission, the legislation also established a one-stop climate change information center within the office – guided by science advisors – to help local governments plan for climate impacts.

The  Commission’s April 2016 Fixing Denti-Cal report – which described how millions of California’s low-income children seldom visit a dentist despite having state-insured dental coverage – prompted 2016 legislation setting a target for the Department of Health Care Services to ensure that 60 percent of Denti-Cal-eligible children see a dentist annually.

After a 2010 Commission report, Making Up for Lost Ground: Creating a Governor’s Office of Economic Development, recommended a lean and nimble office to stimulate California’s business climate, the Governor created the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development – GoBiz for short.

The Commission’s 2008 information technology report, A New Legacy System: Using Technology to Drive Performance, led to formation of a Performance Management Council within state government.

Proposition 1, the $7.5 billion water bond authored in 2014 by Assemblymember Anthony Rendon, and passed by California voters, added climate change adaptation for the first time to the criteria for water-related grant applicants, following input by the Commission and the California Water Commission.

Following recommendations in the Commission’s 2013 report, An Agenda for Veterans: The State’s Turn to Serve, the Legislature in 2013 budgeted $3 million to hire 36 people for a state strike team to trim long waiting times – up to 600 days in some cases – for veterans to claim federal compensation and benefits. The strike force rapidly helped veterans gain eligibility to hundreds of millions of dollars in benefits, helping veterans individually, as well as their communities.

The Commission’s 2009 report, Bond Spending: Expanding and Enhancing Oversight, prompted 2011 legislation to help voters effortlessly grasp the full 30-year principal and interest costs of proposed statewide bond measures.