Environment and Natural Resources

The 2025-26 Budget: State Mandate—Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board

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May 5, 2025 - In this budget post, we discuss a municipal stormwater mandate issued by the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board in 2009 for local governments in Orange County.

The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund: Current Status and Choices Ahead

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April 30, 2025 - Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 4 on Climate Crisis, Resources, Energy and Transportation

Wildfire Response and Recovery in California

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April 28, 2025 - Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 6 on Public Safety

Overview of State Wildfire Resilience Funding, Actions, and Considerations

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April 23, 2025 - Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 4 on Climate Crisis, Resources, Energy and Transportation

Wildfire Spending and Energy Affordability

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March 5, 2025 - Assembly Committee on Utilities and Energy

Proposed Proposition 4 Spending Plan

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February 27, 2025 - Presented to: Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 2 on Resources, Environmental Protection and Energy

Cap-and-Trade: Overview and Affordability Considerations

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February 26, 2025 - Joint Legislative Committee on Climate Change Policies

The 2025-26 Budget: Various California Air Resources Board Proposals

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February 24, 2025 - This brief analyzes various budget proposals from the California Air Resources Board.

Proposed Proposition 4 Spending Plan

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February 19, 2025 - Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 4 on Climate Crisis, Resources, Energy, and Transportation

The 2025-26 Budget: Natural Resources and Agriculture Discretionary Spending Proposals

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February 18, 2025 - This brief discusses three discretionary General Fund spending proposals in the agriculture and natural resources policy areas.

The 2025-26 Budget: Cap-and-Trade Expenditure Plan

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February 12, 2025 - In this brief, we assess the Governor’s cap-and-trade expenditure plan for 2025-26 and provide associated recommendations.

The 2025-26 Budget: Proposition 4 Spending Plan

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February 12, 2025 - This brief assesses the Governor’s proposals to implement Proposition 4, the $10 billion climate bond approved by voters in November 2024.

Frequently Asked Questions About Wildfires in California

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January 28, 2025 - This post answers commonly asked questions related to wildfires in the state of California.

The 2025-26 Budget: Overview of the Governor's Budget

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January 13, 2025 - Update (1/16/25): A set of tables detailing various solutions and proposals has been appended to the online version of this report. They are available using the HTML link above.

On January 10, 2025, Governor Newsom’s administration presented its proposed state budget to the California Legislature. In this report, we provide a brief summary of the Governor’s budget based on our initial review as of January 12. In the coming weeks, we will analyze the plan in more detail and release many additional issue-specific budget analyses. For those additional analyses, please see our budget page.

Assessing California’s Climate Policies—Residential Electricity Rates in California

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January 7, 2025 - This report explores key questions that frequently emerge around residential electricity rates in California, including why electricity rates are relatively high, some resulting implications for ratepayers and state climate change goals, and notable emerging issues.