Feb. 13, 2010 - The latest volume of the UCLA School of Public Affairs' annual state policy report, "California Policy Options 2010," brings together perspectives and analysis on some of the most difficult issues facing the state, including the downward spiral of the state budget and dysfunction in governmental processes, as well as longer-term challenges involving income distribution, greenhouse gas emissions and public transportation.
The report provides a snapshot of current interrelated policy problems though in-depth case studies and includes examinations of:
Environmental legislation
Examines the implications of SB 375, a 2008 environmental law that requires curbing greenhouse gases through land-use planning, and evaluates methods to meet the requirements of AB32, California's Global Warming Solutions Act.
Curbing sprawl
Demonstrates the need for higher-density development; presents ideas for incentivizing California's public transit infrastructure; and introduces a novel approach that suggests the current slump in the housing market may be an opportunity to incentivize building high-density areas through "smart districts."
State budget crisis
Examines the historical origins of the budget crisis and its relation to the historic foreclosure crisis and proposes a promising solution that calls for reevaluating the mechanisms behind Proposition 13's tax rate.
Economic recovery
Examines the housing, job and banking sectors and offers a critical take on the signs of recovery from the economic downturn, postulating that recovery for California is certain, though not without additional upheavals in the mortgage sector.
Gun control legislation
Traces the steps taken by activists and legislators that led to the state's landmark Crime Gun Identification Act (AB 1471.)
"California Policy Options 2010" is published by the Ralph and Goldy Lewis Center at the UCLA School of Public Affairs and includes research made possible by the generosity of the David Bohnett Foundation.
The Ralph and Goldy Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies was established to promote the study, understanding and solution of regional policy issues, with special reference to Southern California, including problems of the environment, urban design, housing, community and neighborhood dynamics, transportation, and economic development. The center is a focus of interdisciplinary activities, involving numerous faculty members and graduate students from schools and departments across UCLA.
The UCLA School of Public Affairs, founded in 1994, incorporates the best practices in scholarship, research and teaching in the fields of social welfare, urban planning and public policy. The unique intersection of these disciplines within one school allows for academic cross-collaboration and a graduate education that values perspectives at the macro- and micro-organizational levels. Graduates of the master's and doctoral programs are well prepared to take leadership roles and effect change as practitioners, researchers and policymakers in the public, private and nongovernmental sectors. Faculty members are actively engaged in leading-edge research that addresses pressing national and regional issues, including immigration, drug policy, prison reform, low-income families and youth, health care financing, transportation, the environment, national security, economic development and an aging population.
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