SAN FRANCISCO – (INT) – Governor Brown is basking in his highest job approval rating.

At the start of his historic fourth term, a poll by the Public Policy Institute of California found 61 percent of the adults surveyed approve of Brown’s work.

The Governor was instrumental in winning passage of a sales tax increase that will expire in 2018. Pollster Mark Baldassare found that half of the likely voters favored an extension.

“Whenever you’re talking about taxing the voters, to have majority support is noteworthy.”

Californians are starting the year in a more optimistic mood than they have been in years. Fifty-seven percent say things are going in the right direction.

Story Date: February 3, 2015