revise. Indeed, there continued to be a search for eliminating state mandates of local activities, not to give the locals the freedom to eliminate the activities, but to find activities which – if they weren’t mandated – the locals would perform anyway.84 Mandates from the state to the locals must be funded by the state; activities which are “voluntary” at the local level are paid for locally. The bankruptcies of Stockton and San Bernardino were in the news. And there were reports about litigation by local governments against the state as the latter tried to collect what it said it was owed due to the earlier termination of local redevelopment agencies. But the governor seemed more focused on the external world, specifically a trade promotion trip to China. The adage about all politics being local did not appear to apply to California. In some respects, the period before the May revise is similar to that shortly before the January budget proposal. There are hints and leaks about what the revision will contain. The governor’s proposed K‐12 redirection of funds toward low‐income and disadvantaged districts was provoking opposition from districts that feared they would lose out. Brown promised that his opponents were “going to get the battle of their lives” if they tried to kill the plan.85 More generally, he warned Democrats that they should not assume windfall revenue in making their spending proposals – although a windfall had seemed to occur. “The revenues, guys, wait ‘til the May revise,” said the governor in what may have been inadvertent rhyme.86 Revise and Dissent “They don’t call me Moonbeam any more... We’re getting things done. We’re building the foundation for a renewed California.” Governor Jerry Brown April 2013 interview with the Financial Times87 Although the policy issues – particularly the K‐12 funding reforms – were well known before the May revise was released, the most contentious question involved revenue projections. With more tax receipts coming in than had been anticipated when the January proposal was made public, would more optimistic projections be made for the coming fiscal year? If so, there could in principle be more spending on various programs. As Table 3 indicates, the governor was willing to up the revenue estimates for the then‐current fiscal year 2012‐13. But Table 4 also shows that he did not push up revenue estimates for 2013‐14. In fact, somewhat less revenue was assumed than in January with the lower amount attributed to a less robust state economic recovery due to the congressional sequester. Note that the revenue estimates are not the same thing as the actual revenue that will be received. If “conservative” figures are used and more money comes in than estimated, the result will be a somewhat bigger reserve than initially projected. In effect, a rainy‐day fund accumulates. Recall as well that when cash estimates of the reserve in the general fund by the state controller are considered, the fiscal year 2012‐13 did not in fact end with a positive reserve, contrary to the accrual estimates of the
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