Staff
Heather Gonzalez
(916) 319-8359
Emergency Services and Business Regulation
Anita Lee
(916) 319-8321
Courts, Department of Justice, Gambling
Caitlin O'Neil
(916) 319-8351
State Prisons, County Jails, Sentencing
Orlando Sanchez Zavala
(916) 319-8307
Correctional Health Care, Rehabilitation Programs, Juvenile Justice, Community Corrections
Drew Soderborg
(916) 319-8346
Deputy Legislative Analyst: Public Safety and Business Regulation


Publications

Criminal Justice

To browse all LAO publications, visit our Publications page.



Handout

Overview of Criminal Fine and Fee System

February 27, 2017 - Presented to: Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 5 on Public Safety


Handout

Law Enforcement Oversight Processes

February 27, 2017 - Presented to Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 5 on Public Safety


Handout

Overview of Felony Sentencing in California

February 27, 2017 - Presented to Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 5 on Public Safety


Handout

Impact of Recent Criminal Justice Policies on the State Correctional Population

February 23, 2017 - Presented to: Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee


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The 2017-18 Budget: Department of State Hospitals (DSH)

February 22, 2017 - In this web post, we provide an overview of the Department of State Hospitals (DSH) and the level of funding proposed for the department in the Governor’s 2017-18 budget. We also assess and make recommendations on four specific DSH budget proposals: (1) a $250 million shift in inpatient psychiatric programs from DSH to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, (2) a $10.5 million proposal to activate 60 beds for Incompetent to Stand Trial patients in the Kern County Jail, (3) an $ 8 million dollar funding increase to staff units designed specifically for violent patients, and (4) a $6.2 million General Fund loan for DSH-Napa earthquake repairs.


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The 2017-18 Budget: Trial Courts and the County Office of Education General Fund Offset

February 16, 2017 - Under state law, county office of educations’ excess property tax revenue offsets state General Fund support for trial courts. In this post, we describe the offset and recommend the Legislature adjust the offset to better reflect growth in local property taxes.


Handout

Proposition 64 Revenues

February 16, 2017 - Presented to Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee


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The 2017-18 Budget: Judicial Branch

February 14, 2017 -

In this web post, we provide an overview of the judicial branch and the level of funding proposed in the Governor’s 2017-18 budget. We also assess and make recommendations on two specific judicial branch proposals. The first proposal consists of a $4.1 million augmentation to replace case management systems in nine trial courts. The second proposal consists of a $842,000 augmentation to support various court interpreter-related activities, including a video remote interpreting pilot.


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The 2017-18 Budget: Department of Justice

January 31, 2017 - In this web post, we provide an overview of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the level of funding proposed for the department in the Governor’s 2017-18 budget. We also assess and make recommendations on two specific DOJ budget proposals: (1) a one-time $5 million unallocated General Fund reduction and (2) a $45 million funding increase related to Proposition 56 revenues.


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The 2017-18 Budget: Overview of the Governor's Criminal Justice Budget

January 27, 2017 - The primary goal of California’s criminal justice system is to provide public safety by deterring and preventing crime, punishing individuals who commit crime, and reintegrating criminals back into the community. The state’s major criminal justice programs include the court system, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), and the Department of Justice (DOJ). The Governor’s budget for 2017-18 proposes total expenditures of $16.1 billion for judicial and criminal justice programs. In this post, we describe recent trends in state spending on criminal justice and provide an overview of the major changes in the Governor’s proposed budget for criminal justice programs in 2017-18.


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The 2017-18 Budget: Trial Court Security Funding for Counties

January 25, 2017 - The Governor’s budget for 2017-18 proposes a $280,000 General Fund augmentation to counties for increased trial court security levels resulting from a separate proposal to reallocate four existing vacant trial court judgeships to trial courts with greatest judicial need as of January 1, 2018. We recommend the Legislature reject the Governor’s proposal due to a lack of justification that the proposed funding is needed.


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Criminal Sentences. Juvenile Criminal Proceedings and Sentencing. Initiative Constitutional Amendment and Statute.

June 8, 2016 - Presented to: Assembly Public Safety Committee and Senate Public Safety Committee


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Sheriff Court-Security Services Mandate

May 27, 2016 - State law tasks the Commission on State Mandates with determining whether new state laws or regulations affecting local governments create state-reimbursable mandates. Typically, the process for determining whether a law or regulation is a state-reimbursable mandate takes several years. State law further requires our office to analyze any new mandates identified by the commission as part of our annual analysis of the proposed state budget. In particular, state law directs our office to report on the annual state costs for new mandates and make recommendations to the Legislature as to whether the new mandates should be repealed, funded, suspended, or modified. In this budget post, we discuss the Sheriff Court-Security Services mandate.


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Governor’s May Revision: Budget Trailer Bill Changes to the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act

May 24, 2016 - Presented to: Assembly Committee on Business and Professions; Assembly Committee on Health; Assembly Committee on Revenue and Taxation;Senate Committee on Business, Professions and Economic Development


Handout

Marijuana Legalization. Initiative Statute.

May 24, 2016 - Presented to: Assembly Committee on Business and Professions; Assembly Committee on Health; Assembly Committee on Revenue and Taxation; Senate Committee on Business, Professions and Economic Development