The Valley Industry and Commerce Association released a report outlining 12 long term reforms to improve California’s fiscal health and help ensure the passage of an on-time budget. A group of economists, academics and finance experts convened by VICA in March examined inherent problems that persistently delay the passage of the state’s budget and came up with long term reforms to pull the state out of the red. The report addresses budget reform, election reform, economic stimulus, and government restructuring and fiscal reform. VICA’s recommendations are: 1. Reduce the voting threshold required to pass a state budget from a supermajority of two-thirds to 60 percent. 2. Pass legislation that would institute performance-based budgeting, which uses statements of missions, goals and objectives to explain why the money is being spent. 3. Pass a constitutional amendment that would have the Legislature pass only one budget per cycle. 4. Institute zero-based budgeting as a method of reigning in state spending, which requires a description of each appropriation, the legal basis for performing the activity and an itemized justification for the amount requested to perform the activity. 5. Institute an open primary system , where the top two vote-getters, regardless of political party affiliation, qualify for a runoff. 6. Amend the current term limits structure to allow a legislator to serve 12 years in either the Assembly or the Senate. 7. Reform the workweek laws to allow an employee to work more than 8 hours per day within a 40-hour workweek, and authorize an employer to implement this schedule without any obligation to pay overtime compensation for certain formulas of hours worked. 8. Create a new law to help fast-track projects that are defined as job creators through the permit, California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and planning review processes by municipal and state agencies. 9. Eliminate paid positions on state boards and commissions which cost the state more than $9 million in board member salaries alone. 10. Restructure educational funding. 11. Reform mandatory prison sentencing requirements. 12. Reform public employee pension plans and move from defined benefit to defined contribution.
