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Contributors
Bill Leonard - Contributor
Bill Leonard is a Member of the State Board of Equalization
 A
Week Under the Dome...
Tom Campbell, CPR and Education...
[Bill Leonard] 11/15/04
Campbell a Solid Choice for DOF
I was pleased to hear the news that the Governor has asked my
friend, Tom Campbell, to be his new Director of Finance. The
Governor envisions the job as the CFO of state government, and
I am confident Tom Campbell will help the Governor by being a
genuine in-house manager of fiscal matters.
While in the legislature, Tom Campbell authored
and passed a bill to require the Department of Finance to analyze
fiscal bills “dynamically” instead
of “statically.” When liberals propose taxing “the
rich” they usually just take the number of people they
consider rich and multiply that number by the tax increase and
say that is how much revenue will come in. That is a static analysis.
A dynamic analysis asks how many rich people will move to Nevada
as a result of higher taxes. In short, dynamic modeling assumes
that changes in tax policy mean there will be changes in taxpayer
behavior that are fiscally significant.
The difference between the two methods is perfectly
illustrated by a study I asked the Legislative Analyst to do
in 2002 of Governor
Wilson‚s tax increases. That study showed that the actual
revenue that came in as a result of those tax increases was about
20% lower than was forecast at the time the tax hikes were proposed.
This resulted in a net shortfall to the state‚s treasury
of more than $1.8 billion over three years. Clearly, Campbell‚s
1994 legislation to require dynamic modeling was desperately
needed, even if Finance has not since always followed through
with the law. Under Campbell, I am confident they will.
Tom Campbell proved to me he is highly intelligent, but perhaps
more importantly, during the time I served with him in the Senate,
he demonstrated the virtue of thriftiness to a remarkable degree.
I am confident the state will be well served by this appointment.
CPR Continued
Today I continue the list of state government functions that
the California Performance Review recommends maintaining, although
the work will be done by new departments. The old entity is followed,
in parentheses, by where the function will be done under the
reorganization plan.
Coachella Mountain Conservancy (Natural Resources); California
Coastal Commission (Natural Resources, except the Oil Spill Program,
which will be overseen by the Environmental Protection); Continuing
Care Advisory Committee (Health and Human Services); Correctional
Standard Authority (Correctional Services); Cultural and Historical
Endowment (Natural Resources); Committee on Dental Auxiliaries
(Health and Human Services); Dental Board of California (Health
and Human Services except for those functions transferred to
the Dept. of Public Safety and Homeland Security); State Council
on Developmental Disabilities (Health and Human Services); Developmental
Disability Area Boards (Health and Human Services); Economic
Strategy Panel (Labor and Economic Development); Film Commission
(Labor and Economic Development); Financial Solvency Standards
Advisory Board (Health and Human Services);
Education: Bad News/Good News
Over the past few months, the Department of Education has released
data that show an education system in serious crisis. It is important
to keep in mind that some will try to shoot the messenger. Every
excuse will be given why it is bad to measure student achievement.
It took years of hard political fighting to even get to this
point where we are testing students against national norms and
minimum standards. Measurement alone does not improve educational
quality but properly used it will give educators and policy makers
pointers on making needed improvements. We cannot afford to let
up on these measures.
Starting with the Early Assessment program. The CSU system has
teamed up with California's K-12 schools to provide 11th-graders
a way to measure their ability to do college level work. This
is a terrific idea. Last Spring nearly 40 percent of all 11th
grade students statewide voluntarily took a test to see whether
they are ready to handle college-level mathematics and English
at CSU. The results are shocking: Only 22 percent were ready
to take college English classes and 55 percent were ready for
college mathematics.
In addition to this, the number of California
schools facing penalties under the Federal No Child Left Behind
Act because
they failed to meet federal test-score standards rose 45 percent
to 1,626 schools, which is about 20 percent of all California
schools. This could rise substantially as the requirements under
the Act become tougher. By 2014, 100 percent of students in each
public school must score "proficient" in reading, writing,
and math -- hence, the title “No Child Left Behind.”
Many reformers have been warning us about the decline in educational
skills of our students. These tests are concrete proof that the
warnings cannot be ignored. Those who would end this testing
must be rebuffed so that we can use this information to guide
our educational bureaucracy to the needed improvements. CRO
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