BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 894
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   May 13, 2009

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Kevin De Leon, Chair

                    AB 894 (Furutani) - As Amended:  May 11, 2009

          Policy Committee:                              ElectionsVote:7-0  
          (Consent)

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:              

           SUMMARY  

          This bill requires the Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO), when  
          preparing the required fiscal analyses for measures on the  
          statewide ballot, to provide specified additional information.  
          Specifically, this bill:

          1.Requires the LAO, if it estimates that a measure will increase  
            state costs, to provide an analysis of the measure's impact on  
            the state, and an estimate of the percentage of the General  
            Fund that would be expended by the measure if applicable.

          2.Requires that any estimate of increased cost to the state or  
            local governments be set out in boldface print in the ballot  
            pamphlet.

          3.Requires the LAO, in preparing the fiscal impact summary for a  
            measure on the ballot, to attempt using standard descriptions  
            of changes in revenues or costs for measure so that comparison  
            between measures can be easier for the average voter to  
            understand.



          4.Requires the fiscal impact statement and any estimated amount  
            of an increase or decrease in revenues or costs to the state  
            or local government included in the title and summary prepared  
            by the AG for a state initiative measure to be in boldface  
            type.

           
          FISCAL EFFECT  








                                                                  AB 894
                                                                  Page  2


          Negligible fiscal impact.

           COMMENTS  

           Purpose  .  According to the bill's sponsor, the State Controller,  
          this bill is intended to enable voters to better understand the  
          measure's costs.  According to the sponsor, "The recent budget  
          crisis demonstrates the need to make more transparent the costs  
          to taxpayers of establishing new programs or locking in  
          formulaic spending, especially via ballot box budgeting.  By  
          presenting costs in the manner proposed by this bill, voters  
          will be better able to assess and understand the benefits versus  
          the costs of the measure on which they are deciding." 

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081