Featured Items

LAO Series

Assessing California's Climate Policies

Thumbnail - Assessing California's Climate Policies Series

Staff
Helen Kerstein
(916) 319-8364
Air Quality, Energy, Climate Change, and High-Speed Rail
Brian Metzker
(916) 319-8354
Forestry, Parks, and Agriculture
Sonja Petek
(916) 319-8340
Water, Coastal Development, and Fish and Wildlife
Frank Jimenez
(916) 319-8324
Highways and Roads, Recycling, and Toxics
Rachel Ehlers
(916) 319-8330
Deputy Legislative Analyst: Environment and Transportation

Publications

Environment and Natural Resources

To browse all LAO publications, visit our Publications page.

Brief

The 2024-25 Budget: Cap-and-Trade Expenditure Plan

February 20, 2024 - This posts describes the Governor's $2.3 billion discretionary cap-and-trade expenditure plan proposal.

Report

The 2024-25 Budget: Crafting Climate, Resources, and Environmental Budget Solutions

February 14, 2024 - This report describes the Governor’s proposed budget solutions within climate, resources, and environmental programs, and provides the Legislature with suggestions for how it might modify the spending plan to better reflect its priorities and prepare to address a potentially larger budget problem.

Handout

The Cap-and-Trade Program: Issues for Legislative Consideration

February 13, 2024 - Presented to: Senate Environmental Quality Committee Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 2 on Resources, Environmental Protection and Energy

Report

Assessing Early Implementation of Urban Water Use Efficiency Requirements

January 4, 2024 - Legislation approved in 2018 established a long-term urban water use efficiency framework to “Make Conservation a California Way of Life,” creating new requirements for urban retail water suppliers across the state. This report responds to a requirement that our office assess implementation of the framework.

Brief

California’s Cap-and-Trade Program: Frequently Asked Questions

October 24, 2023 - This post answers commonly asked questions about cap-and-trade—one of the state’s key programs to address greenhouse gas emissions—and the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.

Post

The 2023-24 California Spending Plan: Resources and Environmental Protection

October 16, 2023 - The 2023‑24 budget package provides a total of $19.2 billion from various fund sources—the General Fund, bond funds, a number of special funds, and federal funds—for programs administered by the California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) and Environmental Protection Agency. This is a net decrease of $15.5 billion (45 percent) compared to 2022‑23 estimated levels. This change is primarily due to a large amount of one-time funding—mostly from the General Fund—provided to departments within both agencies in 2022‑23.

Report

The 2023-24 Budget: California Spending Plan Series

October 2, 2023 - Each year, our office publishes California Spending Plan, a series of publications that summarize the annual state budget. The final version of Overview of the California Spending Plan is presented here along with short online posts that focus on major areas and features of the 2023-24 budget package. As these posts become available, we will add them below.

Handout

Promoting Electric Reliability; Recent State Actions

August 29, 2023 - Presented to: Senate Committee on Energy, Utilities and Communications

Handout

Leveraging Federal Climate Funding; Recent State Actions

August 29, 2023 - Presented to: Joint Legislative Committee on Climate Change Policies

Handout

Overview of California Ports

August 17, 2023 - Presented to: Assembly Select Committee on Ports and Goods Movement

Post

New Infrastructure Legislation: Summary and Issues for Legislative Oversight

August 8, 2023 - The Legislature recently adopted a package of bills aimed at expediting infrastructure projects. In this post, we provide a summary of the key components of the bills that comprise this infrastructure package, including provisions related to legislative oversight. We conclude by identifying key issues for the Legislature to consider as it oversees the implementation of this legislation.

Handout

Governor’s Infrastructure Proposals: Issues for Legislative Consideration

June 8, 2023 - Presented to: Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Water

Brief

The 2023-24 Budget: Improving Legislative Oversight of CalFire’s Emergency Fire Protection Budget

May 1, 2023 - In this brief, we discuss the design of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection's budget for emergency wildfire response, known as the Emergency Fund (E-Fund). We also provide recommendations for modifying the structure of the E-Fund to enhance legislative oversight and control over department expenditures, while preserving necessary budgetary flexibility.

Handout

Cap-and-Trade Spending Overview

March 30, 2023 - Presented to: Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 2 on Resources, Environmental Protection and Energy

Brief

The 2023-24 Budget: Proposed Energy Policy Changes

March 10, 2023 - This brief considers the Governor’s proposals to (1) establish a new central procurement role for the state to secure energy resources, and (2) require electric utilities that experience energy deficiencies to make payments for state-operated emergency backup electricity resources.