Tamar Foster, Project Manager
Little Hoover Commission Names Ethan Rarick New Executive Director
The Little Hoover Commission announced Ethan Rarick has been named Executive Director of the bipartisan, independent state oversight agency. He will join the Commission on June 10, 2019. He succeeds the late Carole D'Elia, who held the post for four years following a long tenure with the Commission.
Mr. Rarick brings with him extensive public policy experience that aligns with the values of the Little Hoover Commission. Since 2015, he has served as associate director of the Institute of Governmental Studies at U.C. Berkeley – the oldest public policy center in California. Additionally, Mr. Rarick has served as the founding director of the Institute's Robert T. Matsui Center for Politics and Public Service since 2008. He first joined the Institute in 2005, serving as both director of publications and director of the Center on Politics.
Prior to his service with U.C. Berkeley, Mr. Rarick had an extensive career as a journalist, working for the Associated Press, Contra Costa Times.
"We're all very excited that Mr. Rarick will be joining us," Commission Chairman Pedro Nava said. "Commissioners and staff collaborated in identifying the characteristics and qualities necessary for the position. Mr. Rarick impressed us with his experience, vision and temperament, all critical skills for successful leadership of the Commission."
About the Little Hoover Commission
The Little Hoover Commission, created in 1962, comprises 13 appointed Commissioners, four of whom are state legislators and nine of whom are public members. Its mission is to investigate state government operations and – through reports, recommendations and legislative proposals – promote efficiency, economy and improved service.
Commission Releases its Biennial Review of California State Government Operations
On Thursday, February 7, 2019, the Little Hoover Commission released the 2017-2018 edition of its biennial Economy and Efficiency Report.
Inside the report you will find a synopsis of our oversight work and accomplishments during the past two years, and our list of top opportunities for government reform derived from the Commission's body of work.
You also will briefly learn about our purpose and responsibilities, study process and the role we play within the Capitol community - recommending improvements to state operations, writing bill support letters, testifying in support of legislation that implements our recommendations and taking requests from the Legislature and Governor for detailed reviews of government performance. You also will meet our 11 appointed Commissioners who bring a wide variety of professional, business and civic perspectives to these reviews.
Commission Urges State to Proactively Strengthen the Security of California's Voting Equipment
The Little Hoover Commission sent a letter to the Governor and Legislature, available here, on Monday, March 4, 2019, calling upon lawmakers to fortify the state's approach to voting equipment security.
During the course of its study, the Commission learned of many actions California takes to secure its elections, including implementing rigorous certification standards, requiring a paper trail for every vote cast, and recently establishing an Office of Cybersecurity to keep up with evolving security threats.
The Commission found, however, there are bigger, more aggressive steps the state could take in securing its voting equipment. "In this era when foreign interference, human error, and machine malfunctions dominate headlines, it's more important than ever to remember the adage that security is a process, not a product," said Little Hoover Commission Chairman Pedro Nava. "Though the state takes a number of important security measures, it must be more ambitious in making sure every Californian's vote counts."
The Commission identified the following key issues that policymakers must consider when securing the state's voting equipment:
California must ensure every county's voting equipment is as secure as possible, but the Commission found old and outdated voting equipment threatens election integrity.
California must prove to voters that the election results are legitimate, but more work is needed to better implement safeguards to catch and correct intentional or accidental discrepancies between how Californians voted and reported winners.
California's "bottom-up" election system is valued for its ability to adapt to local needs, but the state lacks statewide goals for election system innovation.
The Little Hoover Commission is an independent state agency charged with recommending ways to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of state programs. The Commission's recommendations are submitted to the Governor and the Legislature for their consideration and action. The letter report is available at www.lhc.ca.gov.
California Could Be Left Behind
Little Hoover Commission Issues a Roadmap for Developing Robust California Policies on Artificial Intelligence
Today, the Little Hoover Commission issued Artificial Intelligence: A Roadmap for California. A competitive race is underway to develop and use AI technologies, which could increase the global economy by $13 trillion dollars.
Commission Chair Pedro Nava said, "Between now and 2030, AI technologies could have an economic impact in California of well more than $400 billion and anywhere from 1 to 11 million California jobs could be effected. Yet, California, the 5th largest economy in the world, bigger than the United Kingdom, India and France, isn't truly engaged in the race to harness the opportunities of AI. France, Switzerland, Japan and even other U.S. states, like Indiana, Massachusetts and Vermont, have begun AI initiatives that exceed what our state has done. California can ill afford to be flatfooted in a global contest that may well define our future for the better or, if we are not prudent, perhaps the worse."
The report urges policymakers to adopt an agenda that revolves around public engagement, building a human infrastructure, attacking pressing social needs, and protecting core values—autonomy, responsibility, privacy, transparency and accountability. The report also offers lawmakers a high-level plan with wide ranging recommendations, including:
Building a state government infrastructure for the development and use of AI that promotes economic, social and environmental good;
Ensuring AI education in California schools and institutions of higher education;
Improving the state's collection of data;
Providing incentives for AI investment, research and development; and
Promoting apprenticeships and training for those whose jobs may be displaced or transformed by AI, including state employees.
Terri Hardy, Executive Director (A)
Little Hoover Commission Elects New Chairman and Vice Chairman
On Thursday, March 22, 2018, the Little Hoover Commission unanimously re-elected Pedro Nava as chairman and unanimously re-elected Sean Varner as vice chairman. This will be Mr. Nava's fifth consecutive year term as chair and Mr. Varner's second year term as vice chair.
Mr. Nava has served on the Commission since April 3, 2013, when he was appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly John Pérez. He was reappointed to the Commission in January 2017 by Speaker of the Assembly Anthony Rendon. Mr. Nava previously served on the Commission as a California Assembly representative from September 2005 until March 2010. Under Mr. Nava's leadership, the Commission has reviewed and made recommendations on a wide variety of study areas including; improving interactions with government, climate change adaptation, the underground economy, open meetings acts, the Mental Health Services Act, Denti-Cal, forest management, special districts, mandatory overtime, occupational licensing, bond oversight and the veterans homes program.
Mr. Nava served in the California Assembly from 2004 to 2010 representing the Ventura and Santa Barbara areas. After leaving the Legislature, Mr. Nava served as a government relations advisor. In 2011, he was appointed to the California Department of Fish & Game Blue Ribbon Commission (renamed Department of Fish & Wildlife in 2013) to assist in the development of the Wildlife Strategic Vision. Previously, he worked as a civil litigator after serving as a deputy district attorney in Fresno and Santa Barbara counties. Mr. Nava also served on the California Coastal Commission.
While in the Legislature, he chaired several Assembly committees, including Transportation, Banking and Finance, Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials, the Select Committee on California's Green Economy and the Joint Commission on Emergency Management. Mr. Nava also served on several other Assembly committees, including the Insurance, Business and Professions and Joint Legislative Audit, and was an Assembly representative to the Ocean Protection Council and California Transportation Commission.
Sean Varner was appointed to the Commission by Governor Edmund Brown Jr. in April 2016. Mr. Varner serves as managing partner at Varner & Brandt LLP where he practices as a transactional attorney focusing on mergers and acquisitions, finance, real estate and general counsel work. Mr. Varner serves as chair of the board of the directors of The Community Foundation serving Riverside and San Bernardino Counties, and on the University of California, Riverside Chancellor's Advisory Committee on Intercollegiate Athletics. He also served as two-time chairman of the California Inland Empire Chapter of the Young President's Organization.
The Little Hoover Commission is a bipartisan, independent state oversight agency created in 1962. It is comprised of 13 appointed Commissioners, four of whom are state legislators and nine of whom are public members. Its mission is to investigate state government operations and – through reports, recommendations and legislative proposals – promote efficiency, economy and improved service.
Commission Urges Culture Change to Stop Catastrophic Fires and Tree Deaths
The Little Hoover Commission released a new report Monday, calling for a dramatic culture change in the way forests are managed to curb a disastrous cycle of wildfire and tree deaths.
Instead of focusing almost solely on fire suppression, the state must institute wide-scale controlled burns and other strategic measures as a tool to reinvigorate forests, inhibit firestorms and help protect air and water quality, according to the Commission's report, Fire on the Mountain: Rethinking Forest Management in the Sierra Nevada.
Immediate action is crucial, according to Pedro Nava, chair of the Little Hoover Commission. "Dead trees due to drought and a century of forest mismanagement have devastated scenic landscapes throughout the Sierra range," said Chair Nava. "Rural counties and homeowners alike are staggering under the financial impacts of removing them. We have catastrophe-scale fire danger throughout our unhealthy forests and a growing financial burden for all taxpayers and government like California has never seen."
Over the course of the Commission's year-long study, the number of dead trees in the Sierra rose from 102 million to 129 million. The Commission found that the deadly bark beetle invasion, responsible for the tree kill, signaled a larger problem of mismanaged forests and climate change.
The report, sent to Governor Brown and the Legislature, makes nine recommendations to restore forests back to their historic fire regime. The Commission urges expanded funding for state prescribed fire crews and forest administrators to oversee a transformation to more proactive forest management. Resilient forests improve safety and make economic sense. The costs of mismanaged forests – for every level of government and many California homeowners in and around the Sierra Nevada – have become an unsustainable burden in California. Firefighting costs in the first half of this fiscal year alone have already topped $700 million.
In addition, the Commission found that forest treatments should be accelerated and expanded throughout the Sierra Nevada and that there must be greater teamwork between state and federal forestry agencies to plan and implement the work. And, the state must create a long-term bioenergy plan to address the disposal of millions of dead trees as well as fund and develop a public education campaign about the importance of healthy forests in the Sierra Nevada.
The Little Hoover Commission is a bipartisan and independent state agency charged with recommending ways to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of state programs. The Commission's recommendations are submitted to the Governor and the Legislature for their consideration and action.
In Memory of LHC Executive Director Carole D'Elia
Terri Hardy, Deputy Executive Director
The Little Hoover Commission regretfully announces the death of its Executive Director, Carole D'Elia, on Saturday, December 16. She was 55. Carole was diagnosed with cancer in September following a family camping and hiking trip to the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Park. She welcomed the widespread support of her many friends and acquaintances, and fought bravely to the end.
Carole brought a deep institutional history to the Little Hoover Commission, an independent state oversight agency. She joined the team in 2001 as a research analyst and served as project manager and deputy executive director before serving as executive director since 2013. She left a legacy of tackling some of the most complicated issues facing California state government, including pensions, water quality, healthcare and long-term care, infrastructure and spending. She developed an especially deep knowledge and passion for energy and bond spending.
Among her many important contributions to the state, perhaps the most lasting will be those in criminal justice. Her work in the Commission's report, Solving California's Corrections Crisis: Time is Running Out, was the first citation in the 2011 Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Plata, which held that California's overcrowded prison system violated 8th Amendment rights.
"She was a remarkable person who cared deeply about the Commission's work and inspired all around her to reach higher," said Pedro Nava, chair of the Little Hoover Commission. "She was thoughtful, considerate and caring. Her zeal was perfectly paired with the practical. We pledge to continue to perform our work in a way that would make her proud."
Carole dedicated her career to making California state government more effective, handled policy analysis with grace and helped the Commission skillfully navigate the political currents to find bipartisan, lasting solutions.
She also was a member and leader of the Sacramento County Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Commissions and a volunteer coordinator with Get on the Bus, which provides bus trips for children to visit their incarcerated mothers. Additionally, Carole served on the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Gender Responsive Strategies Commission and the St. Anthony Parish Social Justice Committee. She also worked with homeless families as part of Family Promise.
Carole leaves her loving husband, John, and cherished children, Amanda and Adam. She is deeply missed by her six-member Commission staff in Sacramento and 12 current Commissioners and many former Commissioners throughout the state.
Carole D'Elia, Executive Director
Little Hoover Commission Calls for Urgent Repair and Bold Transformation of the Yountville Veterans Home Campus
The state must immediately fix public safety threats at the Yountville veteran's home, including malfunctioning elevators and other critical infrastructure issues, according to the Little Hoover Commission, in a report sent Tuesday to Governor Brown and the Legislature. The report calls for bold and innovative approaches to transform the historic 615-acre campus in the heart of Napa Valley to better meet the changing needs of veterans statewide.
Transforming the Yountville Veterans Home Campus builds on findings from a March 2017 Commission report in which the Commission identified critical infrastructures issues on the historic Yountville veterans home that pose a public safety risk to residents and others. Early in its study process the Commission identified problems with antiquated heating and cooling systems and alarming malfunctions of elevators in the home's multi-story skilled nursing facility, designed to house veterans with acute health care needs, some of whom also have mobility challenges. This update report acknowledges efforts by the California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet) to address some of these issues, particularly to fix the faulty elevators. However, despite repairs, the problems persist. The report calls for CalVet to develop ongoing and proactive strategies to monitor and repair structural problems immediately as they arise, while at the same time evaluating and re-configuring, as necessary, its homes program to ensure that the levels of care offered meet the needs of California's veterans population.
Additionally, the Commission determined the state has greater latitude than originally believed to craft a new future for the home. Officials long had operated under the misperception that use of the Yountville property is limited by a 1899 deed that stated California must maintain the property as a home for United States soldiers, sailors and marines. Instead, the Commission discovered that state law permits leasing real property on the Yountville veterans home campus and lawmakers could further clarify the terms and purposes of leasing opportunities.
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to transform pristine property in the heart of Napa Valley and do so in a way that honors the history of the campus, while simultaneously expanding the state's ability to serve more veterans," said Commission Chairman Pedro Nava.
The Commission recommends that California establish an independent entity to plan, design and manage the use of the Yountville property, beyond the current veterans home program. New uses could include affordable housing for veterans home employees and others, park space for residents and visitors, modernized office space in formerly underutilized buildings and a hotel and restaurants to serve the community while providing jobs for returning veterans. Though the Commission recommends the property should maintain a strong veterans focus, state law should be adapted to expand the use of the campus to allow long-term leasing agreements that generate revenue to be used for other veterans services across the state.
Little Hoover Commission Calls for Special District Reforms
The Little Hoover Commission, in a report sent Wednesday to Governor Brown and the Legislature, recommended several measures to strengthen oversight of California's 2,071 independent special districts. The state should eliminate unnecessary hurdles for district dissolutions and consolidations to improve service delivery, expand transparency by requiring every district to have a website with basic information and standardize current reporting requirements on revenues, expenditures and reserves, according to the Commission's report, Special Districts: Improving Oversight & Transparency.
"Special districts are the most common form of government in California, yet because there are so many performing so many different types of services, it is hard to draw conclusions on whether taxpayers would be better served if various districts merged or consolidated," said Commission Chairman Pedro Nava. "Current local government oversight of these districts is working in many places, but not all corners of California. To that end we are recommending some legislative changes that should lead to improved service delivery and greater efficiency."
Special districts are the workhorses of government in California, providing vital services ranging from fire protection to water, cemeteries to sewers. Often it is special districts on the front lines of adapting to climate change and the Commission's study focused on the important role districts can plan in both planning for change and educating their constituents. The Commission spent a year investigating whether California taxpayers are well-served by this little-understood layer of bureaucracy. While they vary greatly in size and in servces provided, some common themes emerged.
The Commission found that the 58 Local Agency Formation Commission charged with oversight are not uniformly effective at initiating dissolutions and consolidations when necessary to improve service delivery and efficiency. The Commission recommends several legislative modifications to strengthen these local bodies as well as a small one-time funding injection to initiate the most urgent dissolutions and consolidations, something that should save taxpayer dollars in the long run.
Also in its review, the Commission found it difficult to find basic information on all special districts. The Commission recommended requiring every special district to maintain a website outlining how to participate in decision making and an easy guide to revenue resources and expenditures, plus a published policy for financial reserves.
Additionally, the Commission focused on one type of district – healthcare districts – particularly those that no longer operate hospitals. It found this segment needs to evolve to a modern preventative healthcare model, as some healthcare districts have. As a start, the Commission recommends updating the outdated practice act that governs these districts.
California's Little Hoover Commission Launches New Website, Brand and Logo
The Commission is pleased to announce the launch of its newly redesigned website, brand and logo. Our refreshed new look mirrors the exciting and engaging direction we are taking the Commission's work.
Over the past year, the Commission has been working with lowercase productions to enhance our brand identity and web communication strategies. The Commission began its journey by developing a new logo design that better reflects its core mission, values, vision and purpose. You'll see our refreshed look on our new website, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube platforms, and very soon on all of our business collateral, as well.
In conjunction with our brand identity project, we also redesigned our website. With a focus on user experience, we wanted to create an aesthetically pleasing website with an intuitively accessible navigation scheme to make it easier for visitors to find the information they're looking for.
We will be continually expanding our online content to bring you updated information about future events, report releases and much more. So we encourage you to sign-up for our public notice list – located on our contact us page – and follow us on Twitter!
We invite you to explore our new website and welcome your feedback.
Homepage: At a glance, see upcoming events, recent reports, current studies, and quick links to get to where you want to go with one click. The rotating slideshow displays images of California's diverse and beautiful landscapes. These images were selected to represent those who we serve – every Californian.
Report Library: Read our reports and learn more about our findings and recommendations. The new report library search engine and drop-down menu is a powerful yet simple feature, making it easier for you to filter through our 230 plus reports by subject areas or key words. You have the option of viewing the report library in a grid or list format.
Current Studies: Learn more about our current studies in progress and view their study schedules.
Events: Preview upcoming and past hearings, meetings, site visits and events. Quickly view the time and location of the event, agenda, public notice and the associated study page.
About: Meet our Commissioners and staff, and learn about the Commission's role and responsibilities, organization, study process and history, and the Commission's role in the Governor's Reorganization process and oversight of the California State Auditor.
Impact: Learn about our impact in California state government and see highlighted implementation activities displaying our direct and long-term effects. Read about the Commission's exciting work in the news and find legislation the Commission has supported during each two-year legislative session.
Contact Us: Participate! The new contact us form allows you to select multiple options for how you want to share your thoughts with us and follow our activities.