November 14, 2022 | Report

Living Under Smoky Skies—Understanding the Challenges Posed by Wildfire Smoke in California

Summarizes trends in wildfires and associated smoke; reviews research on the health and other effects of wildfire smoke; discusses local, state, and federal roles and responsibilities related to smoke; and provides some guidance to the Legislature as it formulates its approach to addressing smoke in the coming years.

August 23, 2022 | Post

Overview of California's Ports

Describes how ports across the state operate and are funded, discusses related air quality and port congestion issues, and reviews recent state and federal actions regarding ports.

August 8, 2022 | Report

Improving California’s Unemployment Insurance Program

Reports on the state’s unemployment insurance program and the changes needed to quickly and easily get UI payments to unemployed workers.

April 8, 2022 | Report

The 2022-23 Budget

Student Housing

Analyzes the Governor’s proposed first-round awards for the Higher Education Student Housing Grant Program.

March 30, 2022 | Report

The 2022-23 Budget

State Appropriations Limit Implications

Estimates the condition of the budget over the multiyear taking state appropriations limit requirements into consideration.

March 10, 2022 | Report

The 2022-23 Budget

Analysis of the Care Economy Workforce Development Package

Analyzes the Governor’s proposed Care Economy Workforce Development Package; provides an assessment and recommendations for both the package as a whole and for two specific components of the package.

March 3, 2022 | Report

The 2022-23 Budget

Analysis of the Governor’s Major Behavioral Health Proposals

Analyzes the Governor’s proposals to (1) provide funding for behavioral health bridge housing, (2) provide funding to implement certain solutions developed by the felony incompetent to stand trial solutions workgroup, and (3) add mobile crisis intervention services as a new Medi-Cal benefit.

February 28, 2022 | Post

The 2022-23 Budget

CalHR California Leads Proposal

Analyzes the Governor’s proposal to provide resources to the Department of Human Resources (CalHR) to implement specific proposals recommended by a taskforce established by the Governor aimed at finding ways to make the state a better employer.

February 24, 2022 | Post

The 2022-23 Budget

College and Career Proposals

The Governor proposes $2 billion in one‑time funding across three programs to increase college and career readiness among high school students. This post provides background on the state’s programs, describes and assesses the Governor’s proposals, and provides our recommendations to the Legislature.

February 23, 2022 | Report

The 2022-23 Budget

Zero-Emission Vehicle Package

Provides our assessment and recommendations on the Governor’s proposed 2022‑23 zero‑emission vehicle package.

February 23, 2022 | Report

The 2022-23 Budget

Health Care Access and Affordability

Assesses proposals by the Governor intended to improve health care access and/or affordability; discusses options to improve affordability of health plans purchased through Covered California; highlights some key access and affordability challenges that would remain.

February 22, 2022 | Post

The 2022-23 Budget

Analysis of Child Welfare Proposals and Program Implementation Updates

Provides program background; outlines the Governor’s proposed 2022-23 budget for children and family programs, including child welfare services and foster care programs; provides implementation updates on a number of programs funded in 2021-22; issues for the Legislature to consider as it evaluates the budget proposal.

February 22, 2022 | Post

The 2022-23 Budget

State Preschool

Provides background on State Preschool; describes the Governor’s proposals; provides our comments associated with these proposals.

February 22, 2022 | Post

The 2022-23 Budget

Clean Energy Package

Provides overarching comments on the Governor’s $2 billion clean energy package and recommendations related to a few of the proposed programs.

February 22, 2022 | Post

The 2022-23 Budget

California Department of Technology

Provides background on the California Department of Technology’s cost recovery model and rate development process for IT services; evaluates related Governor’s budget proposals and available information on a proposed rate re-evaluation process; offers our recommendations to the Legislature.

February 20, 2022 | Report

The 2022-23 Budget

Governor’s Office of Emergency Services Proposals

Provides our assessment and recommendations on the Governor’s 2022-23 budget proposals for the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services.

February 18, 2022 | Report

The 2022-23 Budget

Analysis of Child Support Program Proposals

Describes the Governor’s 2022-23 budget proposals for the child support program and provides comments and recommendations to the Legislature.

February 18, 2022 | Post

The Definition of Qualified Capital Outlay for the State Appropriations Limit

Provides our view on some commonly asked questions about the statutory definition of capital outlay for the state appropriations limit (SAL).

February 18, 2022 | Report

The 2022-23 Budget

Student Financial Aid

Analyzes the Governor’s budget proposals related to student financial aid at the California Student Aid Commission, the Scholarshare Investment Board, and the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation.

February 17, 2022 | Report

The 2022-23 Budget

Governor’s Public Safety Package

Provides an overview of the Governor’s package of public safety proposals, our assessment of these proposals, as well as recommendations and options for legislative consideration.

February 16, 2022 | Report

The 2022-23 Budget

Public Health Foundational Support

Analyzes the Governor’s proposed spending plan for a $300 million ongoing General Fund augmentation for the California Department of Public Health; describes merits of the proposed plan; identifies ways it could be strengthened; offers issues for legislative consideration.

February 16, 2022 | Post

The 2022-23 Budget

Expanded Learning Programs

Provides background on the state’s expanded learning programs; describes and assesses the Governor’s proposal; provides our recommendations to the Legislature.

February 15, 2022 | Post

The 2022-23 Budget

Assessing Proposals to Address Unemployment Insurance Fraud

Outlines the challenges the Employment Development Department faced paying legitimate Unemployment Insurance claims and preventing fraud during the pandemic; reviews steps the department has taken to improve since then; assesses whether the six proposed anti-fraud vendor contracts are warranted at this time.

February 15, 2022 | Report

The 2022-23 Budget

Supply Chain and Port Infrastructure Proposals

Provides our initial assessment and recommendations in response to the Governor’s supply chain and port infrastructure package.

February 15, 2022 | Report

The 2022-23 Budget

California State University

Analyzes the Governor’s budget proposals for the California State University; covers base support, enrollment, foster youth programs, deferred maintenance, and climate-related initiatives.

February 15, 2022 | Report

The 2022-23 Budget

Transportation Infrastructure Package

Provides our initial assessment and recommendations in response to the Governor’s transportation infrastructure package.

February 14, 2022 | Report

The 2022-23 Budget

The Governor’s Housing Plan

Provides an update on some major recent state budget actions related to housing; describes the Governor’s housing budget proposals; raises issues for the Legislature’s consideration.

February 11, 2022 | Report

The 2022-23 Budget

Analysis of Major CCC Proposals

Analyzes the Governor’s major budget proposals for the California Community Colleges, with a focus on apportionments increases, enrollment, modifications to the Student Centered Funding Formula, part-time faculty health insurance, and deferred maintenance.

February 10, 2022 | Report

The 2022-23 Budget

Green School Bus Grants

Analyzes the Governor’s proposal to provide $1.5 billion in one-time Proposition 98 funding for electric school buses; provides background on school transportation and school bus fleets; describes the advantages and limitations of electric school buses; makes recommendations to the Legislature.

February 9, 2022 | Post

The 2022-23 Budget

Office of Planning and Research Budget Proposals

Describes the Governor’s 2022-23 budget proposals for the Office of Planning and Research and provides comments and recommendations to the Legislature.

February 9, 2022 | Report

The 2022-23 Budget

Analysis of the Medi-Cal Budget

Analyzes the Governor’s budget proposal for Medi-Cal, including an analysis of the administration’s caseload projections; provides options for renewing the managed care organization tax; provides our assessment of the discretionary budget proposals.

February 9, 2022 | Report

The 2022-23 Budget

The Governor’s Homelessness Plan

Provides an update on some major recent state budget actions related to homelessness; describes the Governor’s homelessness budget proposals; raises issues for the Legislature’s consideration.

February 8, 2022 | Report

The 2022-23 Budget

Governor’s Proposals for CDCR Operations

Provides our assessment and recommendations on the Governor’s 2022-23 budget proposals related to California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation operations.

February 8, 2022 | Post

The 2022-23 Budget

School Nutrition

Provides background on various child nutrition programs and requirements; describes the Governor’s child nutrition proposals; offers associated assessments and recommendations to the Legislature.

February 4, 2022 | Post

The 2022-23 Budget

Initial Comments on the State Appropriations Limit Proposal

Provides our office’s initial analysis on and comments about the Governor’s proposals to address state appropriations limit (SAL) requirements in the 2022-23 Governor’s budget.

February 3, 2022 | Report

The 2022-23 Budget

Judicial Branch Proposals

Provides our assessment and recommendations on the Governor’s 2022-23 budget proposals related to the judicial branch.

February 2, 2022 | Post

The 2022-23 Budget

Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Payment (SSI/SSP) Program

Summarizes the Governor’s budget assumptions and proposals related to the Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Payment (SSI/SSP) program; summarizes other SSI/SSP goals the Legislature could pursue relative to the intended 2023-24 SSP grant increase.

February 2, 2022 | Report

The 2022-23 Budget

Analysis of Major UC Proposals

Analyzes the Governor’s major budget proposals for the University of California, with a focus on base support, enrollment, and deferred maintenance.

January 31, 2022 | Report

The 2022-23 Budget

Water and Drought Response Proposals

Describes and assesses the Governor’s 2022-23 water resilience and drought response funding proposals.

January 28, 2022 | Post

The 2022-23 Budget

Local Control Funding Formula

Provides background on the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF); describes and assesses the Governor’s proposals; and provides our recommendations to the Legislature.

January 28, 2022 | Report

The 2022-23 Budget

Wildfire Response Proposals

Provides our initial assessment and recommendations in response to the major wildfire response-related proposals included in the Governor’s 2022-23 budget.

January 27, 2022 | Handout

The 2022-23 Budget

Overview of Proposition 98 Proposals

Describes the overall structure of the Governor’s plan for school and community college funding, including the major spending proposals and underlying estimates of the Proposition 98 minimum guarantee.

January 26, 2022 | Report

The 2022-23 Budget

Wildfire and Forest Resilience Package

Provides our initial assessment and recommendations in response to the Governor’s wildfire resilience package.

January 26, 2022 | Report

The 2022-23 Budget

Overview of the Governor’s Higher Education Budget Proposals

Provides an overview and initial assessment of the Governor’s 2022-23 higher education budget package.

January 25, 2022 | Post

The 2022-23 Budget

Cap-and-Trade Expenditure Plan

Describes the Governor’s cap-and-trade expenditure plan; evaluates the revenue assumptions used to determine the amount of funding available; identifies issues for legislative consideration.

January 25, 2022 | Post

The 2022-23 Budget

Special Education Proposals

This post provides background on various special education programs, describes the Governor’s proposals related to these topics, and offers associated recommendations and issues for the Legislature to consider.

January 6, 2022 | Report

An Analysis of the University of California’s Agricultural and Natural Resource Programs

This report provides an overview of these programs—discussing their statutory origin, structure, employees, and budget. The report also raises a few concerns with the state’s oversight of these programs and concludes by providing recommendations to enhance oversight.

January 4, 2022 | Report

Options for a Forestry Management Training Center in Northern California

This report identifies key design choices and options for establishing a forestry management training center in Northern California. Additionally, this report discusses some other strategies that the Legislature could consider pursuing—either in addition to or instead of establishing a new training center—to meet its policy goals.

December 17, 2021 | Report

Overview of Special Education Funding Models

This brief provides background on the state’s current funding allocation formula for special education, describes funding formulas used in other states, establishes a framework for evaluating these formulas, and offers some issues for the Legislature to consider.

December 15, 2021 | Report

Assessing California’s Climate Policies—Agriculture

This report provides our assessment of the effects of major programs in the agricultural sector that are aimed at reducing emissions and sequestering carbon, as well as identifies key issues for the Legislature to consider as it makes future policy and budget decisions.

December 13, 2021 | Report

An Initial Review of the Regional Forest and Fire Capacity Program

Provides an initial review of the Regional Forest and Fire Capacity Program, including a discussion of the current activities funded by the program, the promise and limitations of the program, and recommendations to improve program outcomes and oversight.

December 10, 2021 | Post

Overview of Mental Health Services for College Students

This post describes the mental health services available to students attending California’s public colleges and universities, highlights recent developments in student mental health since the start of the pandemic, and assesses the data currently available on student mental health issues.

December 6, 2021 | Post

Cap-And-Trade Auction Update and GGRF Projections

Summarizes results from the November 2021 cap-and-trade auction, describes cap-and-trade revenue scenarios and the amount of funding available for discretionary spending, and identifies key issues for legislative consideration when developing an expenditure plan.

September 30, 2021 | Report

Reducing the Destructiveness of Wildfires: Promoting Defensible Space in California

Identifies the challenges to improving the number of homeowners in compliance with existing state and local defensible space requirements and provides recommendations to address these challenges in order to reduce the destructiveness of future wildfires.

Executive Summary (PDF)

May 13, 2021 | Report

What Can We Learn From How the State Responded to the Last Major Drought?

Summarizes how the state responded to the 2012-to-2016 drought and highlights key lessons for current and future droughts.

May 12, 2021 | Report

An Initial Look at Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Local Government Fiscal Condition

Examines what is known about the effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic on local governments’ fiscal condition.