John Myers, KQED

Published July 27, 2010

Denis C. Theriault, San Jose Mercury News

Published July 19, 2010

Hoping to goose along a state budget deal that appears weeks away, if not months, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has put a price tag on the delay: $52.3 million a day.

It's a stunning figure, sure. But there's a problem: Economists and budget experts say it isn't, well, right. The number is too high — even if no one can say by precisely how much.

"It's more of a PR number than anything else," said Fred Silva, a senior fiscal adviser for the bipartisan reform group California Forward.

Jonathan Weber, New York Times

Published July 16, 2010

That said, devolution is emerging as a key theme of efforts to revamp state government. California Forward, a reform group co-chaired by Robert M. Hertzberg, a former State Assembly speaker, advocates this approach. If efforts to convene a state constitutional convention are eventually successful, new regional political entities could be a key part of a governmental overhaul.

Melissa Maynard, Stateline

Published July 14, 2010

Half a dozen years later, the conventional wisdom in Sacramento is that the boxes of government survived largely intact despite the ambitious push in the opening months of the Schwarzenegger administration. “They were in such a desperate hurry that they weren't very realistic about how you bring institutional change to an organizational structure that has been built over a 40- to 50-year period,” says Fred Silva, a senior fiscal analyst at California Forward, a bipartisan government reform group.

Westside News

Published July 10, 2010

For nearly a year I’ve been heading the Assembly’s budget reform efforts. We’ve made substantial progress, and now are working to put in place a comprehensive, practical package of reforms based on the proposals made by the bipartisan good government group California Forward.

Paradise Post

Published July 8, 2010

One item that has garnered my interest lately is a comprehensive program of reforms sent to Sacramento by the nonpartisan reform group called California Forward. These proposals could - might - may be a chance for real change in Sacramento, which is in need of real change. Here are some of the ideas coming out of this group - ideas that you may have a chance to vote on in November. Let's start with the most dramatic and controversial one. ELIMINATE THE TWO-THIRDS VOTE REQUIREMENT TO PASS A BUDGET.

Los Angeles Times

Published June 30, 2010

California voted itself into its current budget crisis by adopting ballot measures that demand more from government while limiting its ability to do its work. We already have 10 more propositions on November's ballot, several of them contradictory and many of them arguably counterproductive. There is another way: a comprehensive program of balanced reforms such as the one sent to Sacramento by nonpartisan reform group California Forward. Some lawmakers have been resisting one part of the package or another, putting the whole program in jeopardy. It can, and should, still get on the ballot. It's late. But it's not too late.

Susan J. Campbell, TMCnet

Published June 30, 2010

Michael Klayko, CEO of Brocade, said, “I would like to see them lead a couple of key initiatives: First, as I mentioned, they need to fix the budget mess and deliver a balanced budget, if not a surplus, as soon as possible. Easier said than done, of course, but it has to be the highest priority for any of our state’s politicians right now. The current budget situation is not sustainable. Increasing taxes to generate more revenue is not the answer. One concrete solution they should consider is the passage of the “California Forward” initiative, which makes the necessary changes to ensure a balanced budget while reducing the burden of approving budgets from a super majority (66 2/3 percent) to a simple majority (50percent+1). The inability for this state to pass a budget on time the last several years is now infamous and, frankly, embarrassing.”

Daniel B. Wood, Christian Science Monitor

Published June 22, 2010

“One of the biggest problems with California government has been that counties are not flexible in shifting their revenues around from what is not needed to what is needed,” says Robert Hertzberg, former speaker of the state Assembly and now co-chair of California Forward.