Environment and Natural Resources Publications
To browse all LAO publications, visit our Publications page.
Funding Water-Related Activities
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April 30, 2019 - Assembly Water, Parks, and Wildlife Committee
Coastal Adaptation
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April 4, 2019 - Presented to Senate Budget and Fiscal Review, Subcommittee No. 2 on Resources, Environmental Protection, Energy and Transportation
Coastal Adaptation
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March 27, 2019 - Presented to Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 3 on Resources and Transportation
Climate Change and State Bonds
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March 26, 2019 - Presented to Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Water
Overview of Proposition 68
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March 7, 2019 - Presented to: Senate Budget and Fiscal Review, Subcommittee No. 2 on Resources, Environmental Protection, Energy and Transportation
Overview of Wildfire Budget and Technology Proposals
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March 6, 2019 - Presented to: Assembly Committee on Governmental Organization and Senate Committee on Governmental Organization
Overview of Proposition 68
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March 6, 2019 - Presented to: Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 3 on Resources and Transportation
Assessing California’s Climate Policies
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February 20, 2019 - Presented to: Senate Environmental Quality Committee
The 2019-20 Budget: Natural Resources and Environmental Protection
February 14, 2019 - In this report, we assess several of the Governor’s budget proposals in the natural resources and environmental protection areas. Based on our review, we recommend various changes, as well as additional legislative oversight. We provide a complete listing of our recommendations at the end of this report.
Improving California’s Forest and Watershed Management
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February 13, 2019 - Presented to: Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 3 on Resources and Transportation and Assembly Committee on Natural Resources
Wildfires, Emergency Readiness, and Response
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January 31, 2019 - Presented to: Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee
The 2019-20 Budget: Overview of the Governor's Budget
January 14, 2019 - This report presents our office’s initial assessment of the Governor’s Budget. The budget’s position continues to be positive. With $20.6 billion in discretionary resources available, the Governor’s budget proposal reflects a budget situation that is even better than the one our office estimated in the November Fiscal Outlook. The Governor’s Budget allocates nearly half of these discretionary resources to repaying state liabilities. Then, the Governor allocates $5.1 billion to one-time programmatic spending, $3 billion to reserves, and $2.7 billion to ongoing spending. Although the Governor’s allocation to discretionary reserves represents a smaller share of resources than recent budgets, the Governor’s decision to use a significant share of resources to pay down state debts is prudent. The Governor’s ongoing spending proposal is roughly in line with our November estimate of the ongoing capacity of the budget under an economic growth scenario. This was just one scenario, however. Recent financial market volatility indicates revenues could be somewhat lower than either we or the administration estimated.
Assessing California’s Climate Policies—Transportation
December 21, 2018 - 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 (GHG) emission goals—statewide emissions to 1990 levels by 2020 and to 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030. This report provides our assessment of the effects, of major policies in the transportation sector intended to help meet these goals, as well as identifies some key issues for the Legislature to consider as it makes future policy and budget decisions. In a companion report, Assessing California’s Climate Policies—An Overview, we describe the general types of economic effects of state climate policies, key challenges in measuring these effects, and broad issues for the Legislature to consider when designing and evaluating its climate policies.
Assessing California’s Climate Policies—An Overview
December 21, 2018 - 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 (GHG) emission goals—statewide emissions to 1990 levels by 2020 and to 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030. This report provides a conceptual overview of the potential economic effects of policies intended to help meet these goals—both positive and negative—as well as identifies some key issues for the Legislature to consider when designing and evaluating state climate policies. In a companion report, Assessing California’s Climate Policies—Transportation, we provide more detailed information and comments on the state’s major policies aimed at reducing emissions from the transportation sector.
Cal Facts 2018
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December 6, 2018 - With a state as big, as populous, and as complex as California, quickly summarizing how its economy or state budget works is impossible. Instead, Cal Facts is a visual guide—using a variety of different charts—to the state's economy, revenues, and major program trends.
Environment and Natural Resources Staff
- Ross Brown
- (916) 319-8345
- Air Quality, Energy, Recycling, and Climate Change
- Rachel Ehlers
- (916) 319-8330
- Water, Coastal Development, and Fish and Wildlife
- Helen Kerstein
- (916) 319-8364
- Forestry, Parks, and High Speed Rail
- Frank Jimenez
- (916) 319-8324
- Highways and Roads, Agriculture, and Toxics
- Eunice Roh
- (916) 319-8327
- Mass Transportation, Traffic Enforcement, Statewide Infrastructure
- Brian Brown
- (916) 319-8325
- Deputy Legislative Analyst: Environment and Transportation