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Cuts Revealed That Could Save California Millions

By Mike Luery

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - There are new weapons tonight in the war on government waste. Two new plans ordered by Governor Brown could save California hundreds of millions of dollars.

Brown asked the State Auditor and the Little Hoover Commission to come up with ways to cut waste and eliminate inefficiencies.

The governor has already cracked down on the use of key chains, mouse pads and other giveaways known as SWAG to save $7 million. He's also cut back on the use of cell phones and state vehicles by government workers.

Today the governor received a list of ideas that could really change the way California does business.

Here's what the state auditor recommends:

• Immediate pension reform by altering future pensions for both new and current government workers
• Releasing inmates who are permanently incapacitated and can't leave a hospital room
• Eliminating the state personnel board and merging it with another government agency

Read the auditor's report
Read the Little Hoover Commission's report

State Auditor Elaine Howle told CBS 13, "we identified about a thousand inmates, 1175 inmates that cost the State of California $185 million dollars to provide medical care - just for those 1175 inmates."

Howle added the state must determine, "whether or not it's cost effective to have state employees assigned a vehicle. Is it cheaper to reimburse them to use their personal vehicle to conduct state business? Do we really need to have as many individuals in state government classified as safety employees?"

Many of the recommendations can be done by Executive Order – giving the governor full power to make changes quickly. Brown's office is now reviewing the recommendations to find the best ways to cut waste and save taxpayer dollars.

If you see examples of government waste, send us an e-mail to onthemoney@kovr.com. You can also follow On The Money stories in progress via Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/mikeluery

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