California Legislative Unfunded Mandates and Realignment Impacts on Local Governments.

The State of California has a history of shifting the costs of state government programs to local governments. Under Dillon's Rule, California legislature has stipulated local governments are administrative arms of the states and can be ordered to carry out state programs or policies generally referred to as mandates. As state budget shortages became common since 1990, the number of mandates continued to increase but was unfunded or funding to be forthcoming if application were submitted to the state mandate commission. The commission was of little value as the legislature stripped funding to operate the commission because of state budget shortages. No timeline was established to fund the commission to reimburse local governments for state ordered programs. Shifting state costs to local governments accelerated in the 1990's with the passage of Educational Revenue Augmentation Funds (ERAF). This legislation transferred local revenues to schools largely because the state government was unwillingness to use its own general fund money. Under Proposition 98, passed in 1988, 45% of the state budget must service K-12 schools and community colleges. Voters in 2010 passed Proposition 22 to constitutionally stop the state from taking local revenues but mandates were not covered. In 2011 the state began to implement the Public Safety Realignment Plan. This legislative mandate was to transfer inmates from state prisons to counties jails to comply with a court order to reduce the excessive overcrowding in prison facilities. The courts ruled that overcrowding in penitentiaries' were unacceptable. This Act shifted a large percentage of inmates to local governments with the promise by the state to cover the costs that would no longer be part of the State Department of Corrections. What are the consequences of this new mandate on local governments? Who is going to pay the costs and how can the expenses be guaranteed to local governments? What consequences will realignment have on local law enforcement and crime rates especially in the areas of drug abuse? What about the costs of health care and housing needs? California yearly prison costs more than any other state in the country and the state has chosen to transfer some of these costs to California county governments. In fiscal year 2011-2012 California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation will spend over $7 billion plus another $970 million in prison-related costs outside the department's budget. The total cost of California's prisons to incarcerate a population of 170,000 was almost $8 billion. As of this writing the state continues to impose unfunded mandates in a variety of areas to order local governments to do jobs but may never pay them back for the work the state requires. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]