What portion and how much of California State's 2003 annual budget is
reserved for the purchase of electricity consumption in state occupied
buildings?  Also need 2002 data for comparison.  Answer I'm looking
for shall include "as a % of total 2003/2002 annual budget" and "total
anticipated 2003 / actual 2002 spend for electrical consumption".  If
possible answer needs to be broken out by leased vs owned properties.
Answer shall also include reference where information can be located.

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Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 13 Oct 2003 15:19 PDT

Hello jmuckey-ga,

Budget documents generally don't provide the level of detail you are
seeking, especially the budget for one of the largest economies in the
world.  There may be some figures available for "overhead" or
"utility" costs (though even this is doubtful) but certainly not for
electricity consumption in state-occupied buildings.

A general statement regarding this from the State of California can be
seen here at this list of Budget FAQs:

http://www.dof.ca.gov/HTML/BUD_DOCS/question.htm#question12

How much is spent on computers, Information Technology (data
processing), equipment, out-of-state travel, or other line-item
(object) of expenditure?

The State does not accumulate statewide data at this low level of
expenditure, only individual departments maintain such data in their
accounting and budgeting systems.

---------------

And in my own experience with multiple levels of government, not even
individual agencies are likely to have the type of data you're
seeking.

In light of this, I think the best you can do is broad overview
statements about energy use by the state government itself, and
potential trends in recent and future usage.  The best document
available in this regard is the state's "Building Better Buildings
2003" report which can be found here:

http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov/GreenBuilding/Blueprint/2003/

It is chock full of information about the extent of state-owned and
state-leased real estate, and the size and costs involved -- including
electricity and other energy costs -- and the opportunities to adopt
sustainable practices to reduce overall costs.

I'd be glad to summarize the key details in this report -- and in a
few other documents -- in order to provide some perspective on the
topic you are asking about.

But I seriously doubt that anyone will be able to find the specific
figures you are seeking...data like that simply does not exist in most
bureaucracies (though in the best of worlds...it should!).

Never the less, I will unlock your question in case another researcher
is privvy to information that has eluded me thus far.

Let me know how you would like to proceed.  And best of luck in your
analysis...it sounds quite interesting.

pafalafa-ga