Director: Daniel Sánchez-Piñol
The Reset Report is the Independent Institute’s flagship policy series for readers who want to understand why something isn’t working and how it can be fixed. Each report examines a major government failure in depth: the decisions and entities that caused it, the cost to real people, and the path to a genuine fix. Each report draws on rigorous, peer-reviewed scholarship to make the case that these problems are not inevitable. They are the result of specific policy choices, and can be changed, often through private, community-based solutions. The Reset Report advances the public conversation with a deep dive into the topic and a data-driven call for reform.
September, 2026
Proposition 40, which would tax billionaires’ wealth in California, is based on faulty research and would have devastating economic consequences. Billionaires’ wealth creates jobs, attracts local investments, and generates tax revenue for local governments.
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July, 2026
Acoustic gunshot detection systems are designed to detect and report gunfire to law enforcement, however the technology is expensive, has high false positive rates, and the quality of the evidence is questionable and unreliable in aiding prosecutions.
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California Golden Fleece® Awards
Founder and Advisor: Lawrence J. McQuillan
Run from 2016-2026, Independent’s California Golden Fleece® Awards are a series of in-depth reports that expose waste, fraud, and abuse in California on the state or local level. To receive this ignoble designation, a program, agency, policy, tax, or regulation must violate common-sense principles of responsible government, be considered wasteful by people of varying political philosophies, and must be well documented.
Winner: Spring 2026
An unreasonable prohibition on the development of new nuclear power plants in California has led the Independent Institute to award the California Energy Commission and the Warren–Alquist Act with its twentieth California Golden Fleece® Award. California legislators should remove the nuclear moratorium for the good of the state’s residents.
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Winner: Winter 2025/26
The January 2025 wildfires exposed the risks associated with living in Southern California and the institutional and policy failures that compounded the crisis. The devastation caused by the conflagrations, combined with the apparent lack of preparation by city leaders and public agencies, ignited public anger in Los Angeles and raised pressing questions. This report offers key recommendations to make Los Angeles and California more resilient to wildfires.
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One Year Later: Top 10 Lessons from the 2025 LA Wildfires, by Kristian Fors
Winner: Fall 2025
As the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA), or LA Metro, reaches its thirty-two-year anniversary, this investigation of the organization’s operations has found that Los Angeles is served by a dangerous and costly public transportation system. For those reasons, Independent Institute is awarding LA Metro the eighteenth California Golden Fleece© Award. This report offers key recommendations for upgrading LA Metro’s service delivery.
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The Los Angeles Metro Is A Failure. Here’s How to Fix It, by Baruch Feigenbaum
Winner: Summer 2025
Due to their persistent interference with much-needed housing projects, the Independent Institute is awarding the seventeenth California Golden Fleece® Award to the many NIMBY groups and individuals that have contributed to the state’s housing crisis. The list of recipients includes environmental organizations, such as the Sierra Club, and anti-density neighborhood groups, such as Livable California.
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Winner: Spring 2025
An unworkable and damaging regulatory framework for insurers has led the Independent Institute to award Harvey Rosenfield, Proposition 103, the California Department of Insurance, and California Insurance Commissioners with its sixteenth California Golden Fleece® Award. This report examines the regulatory failures that have driven the chaotic collapse of the state’s homeowners’ insurance markets and offers recommendations on the reforms necessary to create a functioning and sustainable market.
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Kristian Fors on How to Fix Homeowners Insurance in California, Bob Murphy Show, June 17, 2025
California’s Homeowners’ Insurance Market Is Broken; Here’s How to Repair It, by Kristian Fors
How Prop 103 Broke California’s Insurance Market, July 1, 2025
New FAIR Plan Data Reveals Problem with Zoning Restrictions in California, by Kristian Fors
Repealing Proposition 103: The Key to Restoring Stability and Security in California’s Insurance Market, December 2, 2025
News coverage
California Golden Fleece® Award 2025 Goes to California’s Insurance Disaster, May 12, 2025
“How To Fix California’s Self-Inflicted Homeowner’s Insurance Crisis” Research Fellow Kristian Fors, author of Why California’s Homeowners’ Insurance Market Collapsed—and How to Fix It, cited in Reason, May 21, 2025
“Grover Beach’s Stacy Korsgaden pins insurance crisis on Proposition 103 in her bid for California Insurance Commissioner” Independent Institute’s California Golden Fleece® Award mentioned in the New Times SLO, August 14, 2025
Winner: Winter 2024/25
For its harmful impact on civil liberties and justice, the Independent Institute has awarded its fifteenth California Golden Fleece® Award to the CalGang database and California’s gang laws—especially Penal Code Section 182.5—which have blurred the line between innocence and guilt.
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We Were Right to Warn About Reckless Gang Prosecutions, by Jonathan Hofer, et al.
Gang Deportations Are a Fool’s Errand; Instead, End the Drug War, by Jonathan Hofer
Winner: Winter 2023/24
Politicians and regulators have earned the Independent Institute’s fourteenth California Golden Fleece® Award for policies that break the public trust by undermining market competition and increasing retail gasoline prices, all the while blaming and shaming oil and gasoline producers and marketers for problems that government officials created through their policy choices.
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Why California’s rising gas prices are a threat to national security, by Kristian Fors
Why California Gas Prices Are So High in 2025—And Still Rising, by Kristian Fors and Sean Brenot
“Blame California Politicians for the State’s Sky-High Gasoline Prices” Research Fellow Kristian Fors cited on Reason.com, July 11, 2025
News coverage
“Study Refutes Newsom’s Charge of Big Oil ‘Price Gouging’” Research Fellow Robert Michaels and Senior Fellow Lawrence McQuillan, co-authors of the California Golden Fleece® Award “Pain at the Pump’ cited in The Epoch Times, March 19, 2024
“Who’s to blame for high gas prices? California’s Democratic politicians should look in the mirror.” Independent Institute California Golden Fleece® Award “Pain at the Pump” cited in The Orange County Register, March 15, 2024
Winner: Summer 2022
For adopting automated license plate readers without proper safeguards to protect public privacy and public safety, jurisdictions and police departments with ALPR operations have earned the thirteenth California Golden Fleece® Award.
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Oakland’s Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) Debacle, by Jonathan Hofer
Something is Rotten in the State of Denmark—ALPRs, by Jonathan Hofer
Virginia Passes Plate Reader Oversight Bill, Jonathan Hofer
The Creepy Cameras On Every Corner
Endorsements
A Law Enforcement Officer’s Take on Independent Institute’s ALPR Report, by Elias Amezuca
News coverage
Winner: Winter 2021/22
For operating a dangerous, dirty, unreliable, and financially reckless public transportation system in the San Francisco Bay Area, the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system has received the twelfth California Golden Fleece® Award.
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It’s Time to Rethink BART Expansion, by Lawrence J. McQuillan and Hovannes Abramyan
Winner: Spring 2021
For adopting automated license plate readers without proper safeguards to protect public privacy and public safety, jurisdictions and police departments with ALPR operations have earned the thirteenth California Golden Fleece® Award.
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Emergency Reforms Worth Keeping, by Lawrence J. McQuillan and Jonathan Hofer
How to Make the COVID Vaccine Fast-Track the New Standard, by Lawrence J. McQuillan and Jonathan Hofer
How a Reformed FDA Can Speed Up Delivery of Lifesaving Drugs, by Lawrence J. McQuillan
News coverage
Winner: Summer 2020
For failing to update antiquated technology and wasting billions of dollars and many years on doomed IT projects, the California Department of Technology and other departments responsible for upgrading state IT systems have been named recipients of the tenth California Golden Fleece® Award.
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California Is the World’s Tech Capital, Except for Its Government’s Lousy IT, by Adam B. Summers
Winner: Winter 2019/20
For preventing housing development, which would alleviate sky-high housing prices and growing homelessness, California state and local politicians, government planners and regulators, and NIMBY activists have been named recipients of the ninth California Golden Fleece® Award.
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How Politics in San Francisco Deepens the City’s Housing Crisis, by Lawrence J. McQuillan
A Proposed Amendment to California’s Constitution to Resolve the Housing Affordability Crisis, by Lawrence J. McQuillan
California Would Have Low-Cost Housing If Government Allowed It: The Mortenson Experiment, by Lawrence J. McQuillan
We Got Housing Built after the 1906 Quake. We Can Do It Again. Here’s How., by Lawrence J. McQuillan
A Proposed California Constitutional Amendment to Resolve the Housing Affordability Crisis, by Lawrence J. McQuillan
How California Housing Reforms Would Boost Workers Nationwide, by Lawrence J. McQuillan
Thoughts on Housing Affordability and Homelessness in California, by Adam B. Summers
News coverage
“Resolving the Housing Affordability Crisis” Sr. Fellow Lawrence McQuillan appears on KAHI radio
March 2, 2020“OC Board of Supervisors back bill to speed up affordable housing projects” Research Fellow Adam Summers quoted in the Orange County Breeze
February 14, 2020“California’s Housing Cost Crisis” Sr. Fellow Lawrence McQuillan appears on Morning Briefing with Tim Farley on the POTUS Channel on SiriusXM radio
January 28, 2020“California Housing Crisis” Sr. Fellow Lawrence McQuillan appears on The David Webb Show on SiriusXM’s Patriot Channel
January 22, 2020Winner: Summer 2019
For pursuing faulty incentives that impeded fire prevention and the widespread adoption of scientific techniques to prevent, detect, and quickly suppress wildfires, several government agencies have been named recipients of the eighth California Golden Fleece® Award.
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Trump and Newsom Think Alike on Deadly Wildfires, by Lawrence J. McQuillan
If You Love Forests, Let Them Burn, by William F. Shughart II and Brian Isom
News coverage
“Why California’s Plan to Harden Homes against Wildfires Is Broken” Research Fellow Kristian Fors Op-Ed in the San Francisco Chronicle
February 22, 2025“Is California a Progressive Fantasyland?” Sr. Fellow Lawrence McQuillan interviewed on WIND radio’s Shaun Thompson show
October 6, 2022“Better Forest Management Will Reduce Wildfires” Sr. Fellow Lawrence McQuillan appears on the Andy Caldwell show on KUHL radio
September 29, 2022“California Wildfire Mismanagement” Sr. Fellow Lawrence McQuillan, director of the California Golden Fleece® Awards interviewed on the Bryan McClain Show on TNT radio
September 27, 2022“Recommendations for Reducing Forest Fires” Sr. Fellow Lawrence McQuillan interviewed on The Mike Ryan Show on TNT radio
September 27, 2022“How Much Is Gavin Newsom to Blame for California’s Wildfires?” Sr. Fellow Lawrence McQuillan quoted in The Federalist
September 11, 2021“Learning from Our Fire Failures” Sr. Fellow Lawrence McQuillan, director of the Independent Institute’s Golden Fleece Awards interviewed on Earth 2.0
October 27, 2020“Solutions for California Wildfires” Sr. Fellow Lawrence McQuillan, director of the California Golden Fleece Awards interviewed on KTOX radio
September 21, 2020“Wildfires & Climate Change” Sr. Fellow Lawrence McQuillan, director of the California Golden Fleece Awards appears on One America News Network
September 14, 2020“Plenty of blame for wildfire problems” California Golden Fleece® Awards mentioned in the Oroville Mercury-Register Letter to the Editor
December 18, 2019“California Fires: Technology” Sr. Fellow Lawrence McQuillan, director of the California Golden Fleece® Awards interviewed on KAHI radio in Auburn, CA
November 7, 2019“PG&E’s Role in CA Fires” Sr. Fellow Lawrence McQuillan appears on KFI radio Los Angeles
November 6, 2019“California Fires and PG&E Power Shutoffs” Sr. Fellow Lawrence McQuillan, director of the California Golden Fleece® Awards appears on KFAX radio
November 1, 2019“PG&E Shutoffs” Sr. Fellow Lawrence McQuillan, director of the California Golden Fleece® Awards appears on the Andy Caldwell show on KUHL radio
October 31, 2019“The Late Great Golden State” Sr. Fellow Lawrence McQuillan, director of the California Golden Fleece® Awards appears on KMED radio’s Bill Meyers show
October 31, 2019“Tools California Could Use to Better Prevent and Fight Wildfires” Sr. Fellow Lawrence McQuillan interviewed on KFBK radio
July 19, 2019“Recommendations to Prevent Future Fire Disasters” Sr. Fellow Lawrence McQuillan is interviewed on KCBS radio
July 6, 2019“High Tech Firefighting Techniques” Sr. Fellow Lawrence McQuillan interviewed on KMED radio in Medford, OR
July 3, 2019Winner: Winter 2018/19
For long lines, employees sleeping on the job, and severe mishandling of voter registrations, disability placards, driver’s licenses, and REAL IDs, the California Department of Motor Vehicles has won the Independent Institute’s seventh California Golden Fleece® Award.
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California’s DMV Drives Us Crazy, Reforms Are Needed, by Lawrence J. McQuillan
Time for California’s DMV to Enter the 21st Century, by Lawrence J. McQuillan and Megan E. Sarsfield
News coverage
“23 Million Still Need a Real ID from CA DMV” Sr. Fellow Lawrence McQuillan appears on KMJ radio
February 12, 2019“California DMV Needs Overhaul” Sr. Fellow Lawrence McQuillan appears on KRLA radio (LA)
February 12, 2019“DMV Solutions for Reform” Sr. Fellow Lawrence McQuillan, director of the California Golden Fleece Awards appears on KFI radio’s John and Ken Show (Los Angeles)
February 11, 2019“CA DMV Fleeces Customers” Sr. Fellow Lawrence McQuillan appears on Wake Up Call on KFI radio Los Angeles
January 30, 2019Winner: Fall 2018
For using taxpayer money to settle sexual misconduct claims and shielding the abuse from the public using special laws, offending lawmakers and government employees have been named recipients of the sixth California Golden Fleece® Award.
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No More Tax Dollars Spent to Settle Sexual Misconduct Claims, by Lawrence J. McQuillan
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“Your Taxes Pay for Politicians’ Bad Behavior” Sr. Fellow Lawrence McQuillan, Director of the California Golden Fleece ® Awards appears on KOGO radio
December 5, 2018Winner: Summer 2018
For unleashing a crime wave on property owners, California’s Proposition 47 has been named the fifth recipient of the California Golden Fleece® Award. To secure justice and restore public confidence, lawmakers should enact stiffer penalties for property crimes, and law enforcement should prioritize “smash-and-grab” vehicle break-ins and retail shopliftings.
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Winner: Fall 2017
For its reckless mismanagement of Oroville Dam—which caused a near catastrophe in February 2017—California’s Department of Water Resources (DWR) has been named the fourth recipient of the California Golden Fleece® Award. Ownership of DWR dams should be transferred to responsible private parties as part of a modernization of the state’s outdated legacy water system.
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No More Patch and Pray—Privatize Oroville Dam, by Lawrence J. McQuillan, Hayeon Carol Park
Winner: Spring 2017
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection—CAL FIRE—has won the third California Golden Fleece® Award due to poor handling of fire safety and costs, severe lack of accountability to taxpayers and landowners, and numerous scandals.
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Cal Fire Must Prioritize Prevention, by Lawrence J. McQuillan
News coverage
“What the California Wildfires Can Teach Democrats about Taxation” Research Fellow Kristian Fors quoted on Liberty Nation
January 14, 2025“Californians ‘angry’ amid devastating wildfires, asking where high tax dollars went” Research Fellow Kristian Fors interviewed on FoxNews.com
January 12, 2025Winner: Summer 2016
The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) has won the second California Golden Fleece® Award for its waste of taxpayer money, while at the same time demanding more funding. Caltrans should be drastically scaled back as part of broader reforms to modernize California’s highways.
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“No Gas Taxation Without Better Representation” Independent Institute’s California Golden Fleece Award cited in the Orange County Register
December 7, 2017“The CalTrans Record of Shame” California Golden Fleece Award mentioned on Fox & Hounds
April 5, 2017Sr. Fellow Lawrence McQuillan and Independent Institute’s CA Golden Fleece Award cited in Redding Record Searchlight (CA) editorial
September 12, 2016Sr. Fellow Lawrence McQuillan and Independent Institute’s CA Golden Fleece Award cited in The Sacramento Bee editorial
September 7, 2016Sr. Fellow Lawrence McQuillan and Independent Institute’s CA Golden Fleece Award cited in The Orange County Register editorial
September 4, 2016California Golden Fleece Award featured on FreedomBunker.com
August 23, 2016Winner: Spring 2016
The California High-Speed Rail Authority has won the first California Golden Fleece® Award for its lack of transparency and history of misleading the public about key details of the state’s “bullet-train” project, which no longer reflect what voters approved in 2008.
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“CA Gov. Newsom Slowing the California Bullet Train” Sr. Fellow Lawrence McQuillan appears on KAHI radio
February 28, 2019“California: Off the Rails” Sr. Fellow Lawrence McQuillan appears on KUHL radio’s Andy Caldwell show
February 26, 2019
