About the California Institute

(Or see our board and staff list)

The California Institute is a charitable 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation [view our IRS Determination Letter confirming this], conceived by the state’s bipartisan elected leaders, but sustained with the advice and support of the business, labor, and academic communities.  The Institute’s mission is to identify issues critical to the economic health of California, to coordinate the development of research data pertaining to these issues, and to communicate this policy research information to the California Congressional delegation in a manner which ensures their ability to address these issues in a bipartisan fashion consistent with the best interests of California.

The Institute embarked at a time in the state’s history when one of every eight Members of the House of Representatives was a Californian, when the growth of some of our healthiest industries had slowed, and when federal, state and local government revenues to California were shrinking.  These and other factors led to the desire to have a Washington D.C.-based nonpartisan institute to analyze the Washington environment from a California perspective and relay its finding to policy makers, the news media, and the general public.

Three Boards monitor Institute activities.

• The Public Officials Executive Board is composed of the Governor, US Senators, and ranking Republican and Democratic House Members.
• Our Board of Directors includes members appointed by the Public Officials Executive Board, several at-large members, plus the leaders of the U.C. and C.S.U. systems.
• The Institute’s Advisory Board consists of representatives from business, labor and academia, and it supports the Institute with financial assistance and issue expertise.  The assistance of our Advisory Board members is essential to our operation, and we greatly appreciate their generosity and partnership.

A four-person staff carries out day-to-day activities in Washington DC.

In addition, the Institute expresses its thanks for the assistance that was provided by the members of its Economic Advisory Council (EAC) during a time of great change for the state.  The EAC assisted the Institute with advice regarding economic issues, and it published reports, briefings and issue papers on a variety of subjects.  Members of the EAC, which operated during the 1990s thanks to generous support from The James Irvine Foundation, included leading economists and public policy analysts from the state.  Fiscal constraints prevented us from maintaining its operation, but the EAC’s good work laid the ground work for much of our ongoing work.

Welcoming input from its Boards, public officials, and the public, the Institute staff works to identify projects of greatest value in shaping federal policies that will improve the well-being of California.  Long range goals include:

• Collect and synthesize research and findings on federal programs and policies which affect the economic viability of the state
• Explore ways to encourage, at the federal level, further strengthening of the state’s leading industries, and methods of cooperation with regional partners
• Provide a nonpartisan meeting ground for discussion among various state interests to work through problems and assist developing appropriate solutions at the request of policy makers
• Facilitate and manage the flow of valuable strategic research and recommendations about priority federal policy issues
• Design strategies for effectively using new or forthcoming studies by academic institutions, economic analysts, and others which portray ways to improve the well-being of California
• Maximize interaction and exchange of information and ideas among groups with a California-based perspective on federal policy.

[As stated in our "IRS determination letter," the California Institute is a charitable 501(c)(3) nonprofit.  It also holds a D.C. sales tax exemption certificate.]