Environment and Natural Resources Publications

Climate Change Impacts Across California - Crosscutting Issues

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April 5, 2022 - This report contains four primary sections: (1) a description of the five key climate hazards affecting California, (2) the major ways those hazards impact sectors across the state, (3) significant existing state‑level efforts underway to address climate change impacts, and (4) key issues for the Legislature to consider in response to these impacts. This is one of a series of reports summarizing how climate change will impact different sectors across California.

The 2022-23 Budget: Municipal Stormwater and Urban Runoff Discharges Mandate

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February 28, 2022 - Provides our comments and recommendation to approve the Governor's proposal to fund the Municipal Stormwater and Urban Runoff Discharges mandate.

The 2022-23 Budget: Zero-Emission Vehicle Package

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February 23, 2022 - This brief provides our assessment and recommendations on the Governor's proposed 2022-23 zero-emission vehicle package.

The 2022-23 Budget: Clean Energy Package

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February 22, 2022 - This brief provides overarching comments on the Governor's $2 billion clean energy package and recommendations related to a few of the proposed programs.

The 2022-23 Budget: Office of Planning and Research Budget Proposals

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February 9, 2022 - This budget post describes the Governor’s 2022-23 budget proposals for the Office of Planning and Research and provides comments and recommendations to the Legislature.

The 2022-23 Budget: Water and Drought Response Proposals

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January 31, 2022 - This brief describes and assesses the Governor's 2022-23 water resilience and drought response funding proposals.

The 2022-23 Budget: Oil Well Abandonment and Remediation

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January 31, 2022 - The Governor’s budget proposes $200 million General Fund over two years for the California Geologic Energy Management Division (CalGEM) within the Department of Conservation (DOC) to plug deserted wells and decommission associated facilities. Although addressing deserted wells could have environmental, health, and safety benefits, this proposal represents a significant expansion of current well remediation activities. In addition, federal funding for well remediation activities will soon be available. Furthermore, it may be appropriate for the current oil and gas operators to bear at least some of the cost of remediating the environmental damages from these wells—rather than the general taxpayer through the state General Fund. We recommend the Legislature consider reducing the amount of state funding proposed, consider using alternative sources of funding to support well remediation, and require reporting on key program outcomes to inform future funding decisions.

The 2022-23 Budget: State Water Resources Control Board—Bay-Delta Plan Update

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January 31, 2022 - In this post, we discuss the State Water Resources Control Board’s (SWRCB’s) efforts to update the water quality control plan for the Sacramento‑San Joaquin Bay‑Delta and its source rivers.

The 2022-23 Budget: Wildfire Response Proposals

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January 28, 2022 - In this brief, we provide our initial assessment and recommendations in response to the major wildfire response-related proposals included in the Governor’s 2022-23 budget.

The 2022-23 Budget: Wildfire and Forest Resilience Package

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January 26, 2022 - In this brief, we provide our initial assessment and recommendations in response to the Governor's wildfire resilience package, which would provide $1.2 billion over two years (including $800 million of new funding) for proposals intended to reduce the risk of severe and damaging wildfires.

The 2022-23 Budget: Department of Toxic Substances Control Reform Implementation

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January 25, 2022 - In this post, we provide a description and analysis of the Governor’s 2022-23 budget proposals to spend the additional revenues the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) is expected to receive from last year’s governance and fiscal reform. Overall, we find that the proposals are consistent with the information the Legislature used as the basis for approving DTSC’s governance and fiscal reform. However, we recommend the Legislature continue to conduct oversight of the programmatic expansions being proposed and to revisit staffing levels in future years.

The 2022-23 Budget: Cap-and-Trade Expenditure Plan

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January 25, 2022 - In this post, we describe the Governor's cap-and-trade expenditure plan, evaluate the revenue assumptions used to determine the amount of funding available, and identify issues for legislative consideration.

The 2022-23 Budget: Overview of the Governor's Budget

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January 13, 2022 - On January 10, 2022, Governor Newsom presented his proposed state budget to the Legislature. In this report, we provide a brief summary of the proposed budget based on our initial review. In the coming weeks, we will analyze the plan in more detail and release several additional budget analyses.

Update (1/21/22): Includes a corrected estimate of Governor’s Budget proposals that are excludable under the State Appropriations Limit (SAL).

Options for Creating a Forestry Management Training Center

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January 4, 2022 - Prepared in response to a requirement in the Supplemental Report of the 2021-22 Budget Act, 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.

Assessing California’s Climate Policies—Agriculture

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December 15, 2021 - Chapter 135 of 2017 (AB 398, E. Garcia) requires our office to annually report on the economic impacts and benefits of California’s statutory greenhouse gas emission targets. 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.